DarkStar
by RUMad
Summary: "Did you hear?" "Yeah it was on the news" "3 more were killed last night" "So DarkStar struck again?" Who knew Rachel Berry could be a modern day super hero, and who knew there was so much crime in Lima. Faberry and Brittana. M for language
1. Let's start from the beginning

**AN: Okay so I shouldn't be starting another fic, while I'm still writing two others. So this is like a trial; I'll probably continue anyway but it will be on hold until I finish at least one of the others (so by the end of the month, hopefully). Please let me know if this has any potential, or if I'm out of my mind**

**AN2: its mostly AU (all the glee club are fairly close friends, Quinn didn't have Beth… plus obvious stuff lol), the superhero style in this is a little bit like Kick-Ass, maybe a little bit dark like Batman and there's a tiny bit of influence from V for Vendetta (which is my favourite film of all time! And yes I've read the graphic novel too, I actually preferred the film :S )**

**AN3: just to clear up any confusion before it starts: the start of the story is a snippet of what is to come later (to try and keep you interested), so then the timeline jumps back and the rest of the story continues from there.**

**RATED M FOR LANGUAGE**

**Established Brittana; Faberry after some time**

**Posted: 6/9/11**

**Introduction**

"San, remind me why we're on this side of town"

The Latina driving groaned at the short haired blonde sat in the back "I told you already, I heard there's a club round here that serves you even if you're underage, they don't ask for ID"

Quinn was getting restless, while Brittany who sat in the front seat was getting sleepy.

"Can we just go home? I really don't care anymore, and this place is giving me the creeps" The blonde in the back seat looked out the window on her right, she could see a group of... young men? Boys?... what ever, she could see them standing shiftily outside some building as the car rolled by. They were wearing baseball caps with the hoods from their sweatshirts up too, their faces were completely covered by darkness. The streetlight only just highlighted them on the dark streets

"Um yeah…" Santana started to slow the car down

"What are you doing?" Quinn asked still looking at the group standing to the right of the car. She started to feel extra uneasy when the group started nearing the now stationary vehicle "San, we need to get out of here" she leant forward to get her friends attentions but stopped when she saw why Santana had stopped driving. More of the shifty looking people were blocking the way, standing in front of the car.

"San I don't like it" Brittany whimpered as she reached across the console and found Santana's hand

"I'm going to get us out of here" she had to let go of Brittany hand to put the car in reverse, but stopped when she realised there were more people now behind the car

Quinn saw her freeze and barely glanced back over her shoulder to confirm what she imagine was behind them "Why are you stopping just force them away with the car?" her voice shaky and shrill

Santana looked at Quinn over her shoulder wide eyed and gulped "I don't think I should be doing that"

"Why?" Quinn asked frantically, she looked behind again to actually see the details, that's when she noticed the three of the hooded figures were pointing shot guns at the car.

All of the passengers flinched when something made contact with the car; they all faced the front again. One of the gang members had smashed a headlight with, what looked like, a pipe. He laughed menacingly at the three frightened girls. Then one of them made a reach for the door. All three passengers held their breath. His hand was on the door handle…

They didn't here the approaching rumble of a motor bike.

The girls flinched and squealed again when something made a horrendous crashing noise as it passed the car, the Ducati motorbike screeched on its side knocking gang members off their feet, and injuring some of them greatly, as it collide with them. Then something else collided with the car and now stood on the roof.

"What the Fuck!" they heard one of the gang members shout as he turned his hand gun to the roof, the others followed suit and they all started firing at the same target.

Quinn, Santana and Brittany all ducked down in their seats, certain that they were about to die from the blitz of gun fire that lit the road in short bright flashes.

All of a sudden a body dropped off the top of the car, for some strange reason, Quinn's spontaneous yet seemingly natural reaction was to open the car door, in which the body had fallen in front of, and drag the person inside the car, for the little refuge it offered "Drive!" Santana was quick to react too, she stayed down, as did every other passenger, and she hit the accelerator, steering blindly away from the violent scene.

"Who is it?" Santana asked once they'd sat up and were clear from immediate danger, but still speeding away.

"It's Darkstar" Quinn said, almost daze like as she stared down the masked body.

"Well duh" the Latina asked, as she kept glancing in the rear view mirror to check they were safe "Un mask her"

Quinn pulled her hands further from the body as if to remove temptation "Santana, I can't"

"Is she even moving" Brittany asked looking down at the hooded girl. The flashing from the street lights they were passing, only offered a little light, they could see that she was young, a brunette, she wore an eye mask, so that combined with the large hooded cloak, offered her enough cover to protect her identity… as long as no one got too close.

Quinn inspected the still body, that lay across the back seat, he head resting on Quinn's lap. She'd been shot in the chest several times and once in the leg, but only her leg was bleeding. After a quiet moment the blonde with the short hair could confirm: "She's breathing"

"Unmask her" Santana said again, more than eager to know the identity

"I don't know San" Quinn worried her lip, it wasn't right when their hero lie so vulnerable right now.

"Yean Sanny" Brittany agreed, as she kept looking back at the mysterious girl too.

"Oh for fuck Sake Q, she owes you her life; I think she'll let it slide" Santana snapped, she just had to know.

Curiosity got the better of Quinn "Ok" she said softly. Brittany watched intently while Santana kept on driving. She slowly reached out to grab the hood she then pulled it back slowly and let out a small gasp.

"What?" The raven haired girl asked, as she couldn't see right behind her seat while driving.

"It's Rachel" Brittany answered, surprised as well.

"NO Fucking way!" Santana yelled, bringing the car to a screeching halt so she could see for herself.

She turned so she was in her car seat on her knees looking onto the back; she looked down at the 'super hero', inspecting her face

"It is Berry" she confirmed for herself with disbelief

Rachel's eyes shot open and she sat up abruptly, gasping for air. Her head almost collided with the Latina, leaning over her.

She tore open her leather sleeveless top, with the discrete blue star on the chest, to reveal her bulletproof vest pinned with several rounds (at least she'd taken out the guys with the shotguns first; before they could fire them, her legs would have been riddled with wounds) She winced at the pain in her chest, then started muttering to herself

"Shit, I lost the Ducati… ahh, shit my leg, one damn lucky shot, the bastards" she finally acknowledged the three girls in the car "what the fuck were you doing out there?"

"Oh don't thank us Berry, Q just saved your fucking ass" Santana spat

"It wouldn't have needed saving if you three weren't being ridiculous" Rachel seethed "… let me guess you over heard about a club out here that serves underage… it's a code, there's a criminal underworld out there!"

"Y-you're Darkstar?" Quinn asked, still staring at Rachel with tired curious eyes.

She sighed and took off her gloves "Yes, in the flesh" she slowly turned to sit in the car seat correctly "Santana I suggest we get moving again… take us to my place, I'll answer any questions when we get there" she winced as she started inspecting the fresh wound in her leg.

Santana huffed "So I'm taking your orders now am I?"

"Yeah you are, take us to my house… please" she added hoping it would get the Latina to move faster.

Santana rolled her eyes but did as she was asked and drove off again.

"Don't you think we should get you to a hospital?" Quinn asked, her eyes still scanning over Rachel, and the bloody wound.

The short Brunette was running her hands over her wounded leg "No" she winced again "Shit, there's no exit wound, it's still in there"

"We should take you to the hospital then" Quinn tried to persuade her

"No! I need to get home, I can sort this" she clutched her leg as she tried to reassure them "Please just get us to my place"

The car was quiet again until Rachel started shifting around looking for something "Oh you are kidding me!" she cried out when she realised another thing

"What now?" Santana asked irritated

"My SIG, both my SIG's, shit they're gone" she moaned "I dropped them when I fell off the roof" she managed to conclude to herself

"What's a SIG?" Brittany asked innocently.

"A SIG-Sauer P229, I have eight of them, well now I only have six; they're my favourite's, damn I lost another two" The other girls in the car remained silent '_Rachel had guns'._ They hadn't really thought of it at first when they realised who she was "And that damn bike, its okay I have another Ducati" she was muttering, as if reassuring herself "And two Kawasaki Ninja's so It's okay, and you can get more"

After a moment of silence Quinn apologised "I'm sorry, I didn't pick up your guns when I got you in the car"

Rachel's eyes snapped to Quinn's "Don't apologise, I lost them, besides you saved my life. I'm extremely grateful, you could have been killed when you opened that door, so thank you" she smiled at Quinn reassuringly, who returned it.

They finally pulled onto the drive at Rachel's house, the brunette led them into the house, limping and hopping as she moved. She first led them to the kitchen where she dug through a draw.

"So are you going to start explaining?" Santana asked expectantly

"In a minute" she took her eye mask off, leaving it on the kitchen side. "Ah-hah" she pulled out of the draw a wooden spoon, then she proceeded to hop to the basement door, the curious girls followed. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she slid the light switch panel upwards to reveal a laser thumb print scanner, she scanned her thumb and things in the room started to move. Panels on one wall flipped over to reveal many different guns and knives. And entire wall slid sideways to reveal another room, with motorbikes and tools. Another wall panel turned to reveal some high tech looking gadgets and brand new computers. A section of the floor raised to reveal more copies of the Darkstar's outfit.

Rachel picked up a knife as she passed the wall, then made her way behind the bar and grabbed the bottle of vodka.

She sat up on the bar and bought her leg up, she sterilised the knife with some antiseptic cleaner, took a drink of vodka, then bit down on the wooden spoon handle, all before venturing into the bullet wound with the knife.

After what felt like an eternity for all four girls, and some crying out in pain, Rachel finally got the round out her leg. She flicked it into the sink, dropped the wooden spoon, which now had prominent teeth marks in it onto the bar and proceeded to clean and bind her leg.

"Is that really going to be okay?"

"It'll be fine, Brittany" she failed to suppress a moan in pain as she tightened the binding round her leg.

"Berry, there's a fucking bullet whole in your leg, I don't think it'll be fine"

"It's happened before, you didn't even notice… I'll be fine" she tried again to reassure them this time with a glare followed by another swig from the vodka bottle.

"How are you doing all this?" Quinn asked gesturing to their surroundings "I mean, what do your dads think?"

"It's a family business" she shrugged taking another mouthful of unadvised pain relief "This is my house, they left me here to take care of Lima, they're in Chicago I think" she lent over behind the bar that she was sitting on and bought more bottles of various alcohol out "Anyone interested"

"Yeah after that I think we could all do with a drink"

"Being shot at or finding out I'm a… what did you call me Quinn? A murderer, that's it" Quinn looked away ashamed

"Rachel we had no idea what this was all about" she mumbled with her head bowed "we still don't know the whole picture"

"Okay sit" she gestured to the bar stools, once they were settled and had drinks in their hands she started again "You might think Lima is a loser town, a quiet town… well it's not. There's a huge criminal underworld. They're everywhere but their business is on the industrial estate"

"Do you get shot at a lot?" Brittany cut in

"I've only ever been properly injured 3 times from being shot, once in the arm and twice in the leg… well there was that time one grazed my head and got my ear"

"Your ear!"

"Yeah" she moved her hair to show them that a piece of her right ear was missing, it was like a 'chip' out of the top

"Holy crap, you could have been shot in the head"

Rachel just shrugged "I believe that's where they were aiming" she noted sarcastically

"So how do you get all this? Do your dads buy it for you" Quinn asked looking round the room

"Pfft no. It's illegal for me to own these items, so I hardly procured them legally, I stole them from the crime bosses, I've eliminated two, there's now only one left; you'll never believe who it is… Maybe I should start this story from the beginning; 3 months ago…"

**Let's start from the beginning **

"Did you hear?"

"Yeah it was on the news"

"3 more were killed last night"

"So Darkstar struck again?"

"Must have, that's what the cops suspect"

The not so subtle discussion at McKinley High School had been the same for the past 5 months, all of a sudden it had become _the_ news on every ones lips, the only subject that mattered.

"What the fuck do you mean she cleared the warehouse?" A harsh whisper was rattled down the phone "No, I don't care, this is your fault… I don't want your damn excuses, I want you to put more men on each of the remaining warehouses, and dens… Well then get new recruits" he kept his tone hushed in the corridor as students still made there was round the school to various lunchtime destination

"Hey Z!" another jock passed him

"Hey dude, how was your summer?" he held the phone to his chest

"It was good bro, we'll catch up later yeah?"

"Yeah, see ya"

The other boy in the letterman jacket continued his was down the hallway, while Azimio returned to his phone conversation "Look I don't care how you get it done, I'm the boss and what I say goes, get it sorted for tonight, we got a new shipment coming in and I'm no letting her fuck this one up too" he abruptly ended the call.

Karofsky then approached his best friend "What's the situation?" he kept his voice quiet

"…She struck again… When I catch this bitch… she's gunna wish she'd never messed with Azimio Adam's" his rage built up as he spoke, by the end he took his anger out on a locker, leaving an impressive dent in the door

"Calm down man, we'll get the bitch" Karofsky calmed his boss and best friend down

"I'm glad you're my right hand man on this" they nodded in understanding to one another, they weren't their usual high school jock selves when they didn't need to be "let's go to lunch"

…

Meanwhile in the cafeteria:

All the gleeks were gathered round one table, and guess what they were talking about.

"So who would win in a fight, Superman or Darkstar?"

"Finn, what kind of stupid question is that, of course Superman would win, he's impervious to the weapons she uses, plus she's human, hello?" Sam answered confidently.

Every time Darkstar got a mention on the news, the boys would start the same conversations

"Okay then; Batman or Darkstar"

"Hmm that's a hard one…" Sam started

"Well Darkstar's definitely hotter" Puck butted in

"Yeah I have to agree with that one" Santana now decided to join in from further down the table

"So much hotter" Brittany breathed from next to the Latina

Today Rachel found herself almost invisible sat in between Kurt and Tina, she just kept her head down for once and smirked to herself at the discussion going on.

"I think she could win, I mean, she uses a gun, as long as she shot him in the face, I'm thinking batman in the newer films, his suit being bullet proof and all"

"Do you really think, this is appropriate lunch time conversation? She's a murderer. She's killed 5 people now, what did they do wrong?" of course it was Kurt who put a damper on every ones mood

"I agree with Kurt, why are we celebrating a criminal and comparing her to a comic book hero" and of course Mercedes would agree with him, these two were always against Rachel even when they didn't realise it, well she was glee club competition here, and now something they disliked outside of school.

And of course none of them actually knew why those few had been killed, no one knew of the criminal underworld lurking in Lima's industrial estate.

"…She's got the best costume though" Finn started up again, ignoring the two negative comments

"Yeah, a hooded cloak and the sleeveless leather top with the leather trousers, biker boots, leather gloves… way better than all the comic book hero's"

"Yeah, no leotards or tights in sight" Puck laughed "Though she's not a dude so she'd look hot in that anyway"

"Okay new one, in a fist fight; Darkstar or Puckerman" Santana jumped in, disrupting Puck's little day dream there

"Darkstar" Quinn surprised everyone, even herself, by joining in.

'_That was a quick answer'_ Rachel thought to herself, whilst discretely eyeing the blonde girl with the short hair, across from her.

"Have you seen my guns?" Puck asked suggestively

She looked at him disgusted "Yes, everyone has, but have you seen hers?" there had been a few pictures of the mysterious Darkstar from security cameras. Rachel knew she's been sloppy; she'd only been independent in this 'game' for about 5 months now, not that she was incapable, she'd just had a few minor hiccups, that's why everyone knew she existed, not like her allies, her fathers, no one ever saw them.

"Oh I'm with Quinn, I think she could beat your ass, Puckerman" Santana sneered

"What's with the personal attack?" He whined defensively

"Sorry, Dude but, I bet, she could beat anyone on this school up" Finn said trying to support his best friend.

Lunch time continued with the same sort of conversation. Rachel didn't say much she was just taking in the others thought about her alter-ego.

**Any thoughts?**


	2. Obsession

**AN: So, just a reminder, this chapter continues straight from the last one, and the chapter after that, will continue from the end of this one, and so on, until the story meets back up to the intro (first part of chapter one) and will then continue from there.**

**AN2: so I wasn't actually sure how this would go but thanks to ****smartblonde317**** I know what to write, so thank you. I hadn't thought of approaching it as Quinn being a fan of DarkStar, and I can still fit in the line about Quinn labelling her as a murderer… so yeah, thanks.**

**AN3: I laughed sooooo much at a mistake I made in the previous chapter (I have now corrected that part at least) when they were comparing super heroes with DarkStar, Puck said Batman to one of them I meant to write DarkStar… if you know where I made the mistake you might also realise how funny that kinda is (and how it didn't make sense lol)… I must have been really sleepy and not paying attention… On with the next chapter:**

**Posted: 10/9/11**

Obsession

"Hey mom!" Quinn called into the house as she stepped through the front door, she was just making her mother aware of her presence. Since it was just the two of them there was no need for sneaking around anymore.

"In the kitchen" she faintly heard being called back.

Quinn dumped her school bag by the front door, and joined her parent in the kitchen

"How was your day sweetie?" Judy stood at a counter chopping god knows what for whatever she was going to try and cook that evening

"It was fine" Quinn slumped down onto a stool and started looking over the newspaper that had been delivered that morning, she looked at the cover story. She'd already read it that morning but she was looking again. "Everyone was just talking about this" she held up the paper with the enlarged picture from a security camera, it was of the mysterious girl. She'd been in the news about 4 months, a rumour for a month before that. But it wasn't until only one month ago that they'd learnt her name when she left a card with her name and logo on it on the body of a young man she'd killed, that's how they knew what to call her.

It was obvious it was a girl, with her small stature and curves, it wasn't hard to see that much in these blurry images. There had been one clearer photo taken with a real camera but it was of the mysterious girl retreating from a crime scene, but it still gave them a little more detail. Even though the girls head was turned away they could see some of her long, dark brown, hair that had escaped out of the hood, and they could see her well toned arms, which led Quinn to believe DarkStar would beat Puckerman in a fist fight easily

"You kids are obsessed" Judy shook her head and returned to cooking "One loon runs around murdering people and you kids get all excited" the woman swallowed thickly, she just had to quickly remind herself no one from the area they lived in was getting killed.

Quinn looked at the picture, trying to study a face that she couldn't really see in the first place "I don't know, I think there's more to her than that…"

Her mother looked at her when she went quiet, she saw her daughter trailing her hand over the picture "Are you okay Quinnie?"

"Um yeah" she shook her head to wake herself "Are you done with this?" she held up the newspaper

"Yes, you can have it"

"Thanks" Quinn then went to her room with the newspaper, she cut out the article and lent over the edge of her bed to pull two books out from underneath it. She opened one of the books, that had black sugar paper pages, to a blank page one and stuck the article in.

She then flicked through the book. She had collected every article since the beginning of all this, she couldn't help it, she was intrigued. She then grabbed the other book that had thick white cartridge paper pages, got a pencil from her bag and studied the newspaper photo, before putting pencil to paper.

…

The short Brunette drove home in her red mini cooper, she parked it on the drive, shouldered her bag, got out, locked the car and made her way into the house; a seemingly normal routine.

It wasn't until she was in the house that everything changed, she went straight to the basement, sliding the light switch panel up and scanning her thumb, allowing the basement to become DarkStar's base.

She turned the television on which was set up with a webcam and was linked up to the computer.

"_My little star, your home"_ one of her father's appeared on screen almost immediately, he looked as if he was sitting at his computer _"dear, your daughters here"_ he called to someone off screen. A taller man with dark skin made his appearance next to the first, he crouched down so he could be seen properly.

"_Hey baby girl" _he greeted

She smiled brightly "Hey, dad, daddy"

"_Now Rachel, we've been keeping an eye on the news in Lima since we left just over 5 months ago, now it seems you've been discovered, are we correct?"_ the taller one asked, but still with a soft approachable tone. It was a tone you'd use when telling a small child they'd done something wrong that they didn't know was a bad thing to do yet.

"Yes dad" she looked to her feet "In my defence" she looked back up to the screen "The cops weren't supposed to be on the scene, before the crime boss, and I've killed well over the 5 they know about; and the three from last night, well it was supposed to be only two, then another showed up and I killed him, but he got me in the arm so I had to leave before more showed up"

"_He shot you!"_ both her father's gasped

"Yes it's nothing, it's just a scratch, it just nicked my bicep, I stitched it up myself" she told them proudly

"_It's hardly a scratch if you had to stitch up your arm! Are you okay?"_ The shorter father asked with such worry.

"I patched it up, it's very painful but I'm pushing through it" she informed them, with that same confident tone.

"_I know it hurts, honey, from experience; you look very well, I'm proud of you"_ the taller man told her, making her lips form a tight lip smile.

"Well as a woman I have twice the amount of pain receptors compared to you; a man, so you_ should_ be proud of me" she just felt like she should add that point in smugly

"_Glad to see it hasn't damaged your know-it-all personality"_ the shorter man added

"_Rachie, you were caught on camera too"_ her darker skinned father interrupted and held up a copy of that mornings newspaper, the Lima Ohio News paper. She was surprised that they already got it.

"W-Well it's hard to sort out all the cameras then go to the scenes and finish the job, I can't just go home and quickly block another one-"

"_Calm down honey, we're just worried about you, so we've sent you a new toy" _Her face lit up _"You should get it tomorrow. It's small and it will make you aware of cameras and you can disable them very simply with it, like a remote"_

"Thank you" she beamed

"_So what is the mission tonight?" _The taller father asked as he looked over a piece of paper in front of them, not that Rachel knew it but it was her progress report.

"I'm assassinating crime boss number two: The Raptor. He's going to tell me where the third is, they're in competition so they know who each other are"

"_The Raptor? Is that what he calls himself, we only knew him as number two on our list"_

"Its not his real name, maybe he's a Spiderman fan or something" they didn't understand that comment so just ignores it for now. Spider man was fiction, this was real "His real name is Alistair Ward, I think, anyway he shouldn't be too much trouble"

"_Ok, are you prepared?"_ the taller man asked

"I will be, I just have to set up a few last things" for a moment her voice was strict like a little soldier... and she was, she was their little soldier

"_Good"_ he added _"One last thing before we have to sign off"_

"Yes daddy?" she said to the smaller man

"_What the heck are you wearing?"_ they said in unison

She looked herself up and down to see today's animal sweater and the short plaid skirt "Well the jumper is loose so it doesn't hurt my arm and it hides my toned arms which are a dead giveaway thanks to some of the newspaper pictures and I thought I'd try something different with the skirt"

"_Its kinda revealing isn't it?"_ one of them pointed out

"Well I'd go back to jeans and hoodies but I thought this made me look so ridiculous, no one could ever make a connection, besides most people who'd even look near my legs are the type that are too distracted to notice any tone on them, they're too busy trying to look at my ass"

"_Rachel!"_

"What? It's true" she shrugged

"_Be careful"_ one of them warned before reaching for a button to sign off

"With the people trying to check out my ass? Or tonight's assassination?"

Both men looked at one another then back to their daughter _"Both"_ they said in agreement

She smiled and rolled her eyes before the screen went blank.

She then set to work.

…

Rachel's alarm clock went off at precisely 00:20 she hit the button and immediately got out of bed, she was so alert it was as if she'd never been asleep.

She went down stairs pouring herself a coffee, from the machine she'd set the timer on.

Then to the basement, drinking the scalding coffee as she went, there she put the cup on the bar and suited up, swapping her Rachel Berry pyjamas for her DarkStar outfit.

She pulled the leather trousers on first, then the Kevlar vest, with the form fitting leather one on top, she slipped on her comfortable, practical biker boots, she took her eye mask and wrapped it round her head, (it also kept her hair out of her face) she then threw her cloak round her shoulders and bought the hood over her head, the star shaped pin holding it in place round her neck.

Then she gathered the equipment and weapons she'd be needing for the assassination

DarkStar wheeled a bike from the extra room where it was stored and entered the large cloakroom/cupboard with it, only it wasn't a cloakroom it was a lift to another walk in cupboard in the garage. She left the sanctity of her home and wheeled the bike down the road to not draw to much attention to her house in case she woke any of her neighbours.

…

The short brunette stalked across a flat roof top, her unassembled sniper rifle in its tube shaped case slung on her back, a knife belt with 6 knives attached; around her middle and a SIG-Sauer P229 sat high up on each thigh.

She set herself down on a far corner of the roof, laying on her front as to keep low; she assembled the sniper rifle, keeping her ears alert for any one approaching.

It didn't take her long to find her target when she examined the scene through her scope; she could see into the brightly lit warehouse easily; she'd destroyed or made appearances at all their other possible hideouts; she made sure this was the last one; it was the easiest place to kill him without having to fight her way through many of his thugs.

"Hmmm, what's wrong with this picture?" she muttered to herself "He's out in the open… the lights are on… there are none of his thugs up here but there are on several other roof tops… it's too easy"

She thought about not taking the shot but what if she was wrong and there wasn't going to be any complications… she lined up the rifle… and fired…

She was only slightly surprised when the glass stopped the bullet; it just sat in the pane. They'd replaced it with bullet resistant glass.

"Shit" she breathed as she heard shouting and heavy footsteps. She had practiced assembling and taking the rifle apart so many times she could do it blind folded. She packed it away and slung it across her back as the roof exit door flung open. She pulled out one pistol and shot the three men who appeared, one bullet per thug. As more started to assemble on the roof she made a run for it; running off the building and landing on the fire escape of the one next to it, she climbed down to the ground and ran down the dark alley towards her targets refuge.

The men on the roof lost visual of the young assassin.

DarkStar kept herself close to the walls to cover her back as she looked for an entrance to the warehouse. She froze when she heard a group of the criminals burst out the main door. After they'd distanced themselves from the warehouse following a false trail to her she calculated that there could only be a few left in the big open building. She chose to be bold and use the front door, from what she'd assessed there wasn't another way in except the high windows anyway, and that was hardly an option especially with bullet resistant glass.

While waiting for the thugs to completely disappear, running to where they thought she would be hiding, she screwed the silencer onto the barrel of one of her hand guns before making a move.

With the coast now clear she took bold strong steps and made her way to the front door, casually opening when she got there. The warehouse was empty of any stock, only some empty industrial sized shelving units remained.

'The Raptor' had 5 men with him, as he stood central to the room. She didn't even blink as she took their lives, in fact she didn't even look at them, her face was hidden but he could see she was looking at him, he could feel her eyes boring into him, as she marched forward and planted a bullet in each of his body guard's heads

With his last body guard down he shakily raised his gun and fired at her, hitting her chest every time, but it didn't slow her down, she almost laughed at his stupidity, it was a miracle he didn't aim at her head, he must have just been that nervous and untrusting of his own aim.

He started to shake more noticeably, knowing his end was near. When she was within reach she raised her fist and swung, making contact with his and jaw knocking him to the floor.

"Who's your competition?" she basically straddled his abdomen and held the scruff of his collar as she growled her question. When he didn't answer her straight away she knocked his head against the concrete floor "Answer me, who is the third boss in Lima?"

"A-arc Zero" he stuttered out, his eyes wide and shiny, blood now running out the corner of his mouth.

"What the fuck does that mean? Who or what is Arc Zero?" she was quickly growing impatient, the rest of his thugs might return at any moment.

"I only know him by that, we've done b-business before in the dr-drugs circle, he's a young, African American, kinda large but d-don't underestimate him" this wasn't a man laying beneath her, not a real man, he could only be in his early twenties. But she didn't feel guilty for what she was about to do, he'd done enough bad in his life he deserved this…

"Thank you" she took a knife and slit his throat leaving him to choke on his own blood. She waited until he was dead and then left a small card with her dark blue star on it in his suit chest pocket so it was slightly visible at the top, it was a warning, a warning that said if anyone were to take his place, she'd be back for them.

DarkStar made it out of the ware house and into one of the various alley's that could lead her away from the crime scene. She was almost out of sight when she heard voices shout from inside the warehouse and then more relaying the message outside it.

One of the thugs managed to spot her in the darkness before she made it to the corner and out of sight. He alerted others and soon gunfire was echoing between the buildings and the men were chasing her.

Her foot steps were soft at any speed she ran it was something she had been trained to do, along with being able to focus her hearing, it was hard with the echoing but she could tell from the foot step's that there were at most 8 men chasing her.

She made a quick right, immediately regretting it, it took her down a longer alley way with nothing to hide behind. It was too late to turn back though with possible men closing in on her. So she picked up the pace, DarkStar felt relief as she saw another option, an exit. That when the gun fire started rippling around her again.

She made the correct decision this time with a sharp left, it had a fire escape right on the corner which she headed straight for. She managed to silently scramble up two floors before the men made it to the corner. Luckily, again, none of them were smart enough to look up.

She took a breath and waited for their voices to fade before climbing the rest of the way up.

DarkStar then started leaping from roof top to roof top, she paused at one to catch her breath, and to get a look at her surroundings. She felt more relief when she noticed her surroundings looked familiar. Then it hit her, she'd broken into this site a couple of weeks ago to re-stock her own armoury, it was owned by the same gang.

Her breath hitched when she heard the roof door open, DarkStar was quick to react, she dove for the edge of the building and hung herself over the side. Her feet were against the wall and her fingers clung onto the edge of the roof for dear life, hoping that in the dark they wouldn't notice her leather gloved hands. She tried not to wince in pain as the healing skin on her right bicep started to rip.

She heard an 'all clear' and the door shut. She kept quiet and still a little longer until she could be sure they were really gone. The 'super hero' then heard the same voice in the alley below so she knew it was safe to climb back onto the roof.

DarkStar was now nearing her bike, she'd hidden it behind some dumpsters and a tarp in one of the alleys on the outskirts of the industrial estate, she stopped though when she realised the surrounding area would be swarming with police and some thugs who were heading back avoiding the same law enforcers by now.

She knew she couldn't risk it, after all they knew she'd done, it would be even worse when and if they found out everything she was responsible for.

…

After a trek on foot, she felt relief. She was nearly home, only 3 more blocks. It wasn't really that she was tired it was her nerves: _that was more police than normal someone must have called them with all the noise from the gunfire, you could hear it for miles around._

She was walking down one of the roads near her own, when she could hear a car approaching; she turned to see a police car crawling up the road with policemen on foot with torches, they were looking for her, she just knew it, she couldn't believe they were this far out. She thought they couldn't be sure they were on her trail without having dogs to track her.

The cloaked girl looked around at her options she noticed the house she was nearest to had an upstairs window open and it just so happened that there was a tree near the window.

She darted for it, seeing no other secure place to hide, she scrambled up the tree, her arm aching and stinging in pain again. The leap over the edge of the building's roof had broken the stitches and already healed skin on her wound, the efforts from quickly climbing the tree was only adding to the pain and reopening it.

She tried to silently climb through the window; she then pressed her back against the wall to the left of the window so she could discreetly look out

"Is someone there?" a familiar voice called, causing DarkStar to freeze. She scolded herself for being stupid enough to overlook the fact someone might be in the room, she'd just been so desperate to get to safety she wasn't thinking.

"I'm not going to hurt you" she whispered a reply. In the moonlight she could see Quinn sit up, surprised to actually get an answer. And surprised of all the houses, of all the bedrooms to climb into it had to be Quinn Fabray's.

"Who are you?" The blonde haired girl reached for her bedside lamp

"No" Rachel harshly whispered but it was too late Quinn had turned the light on. DarkStar pulled the curtains so anyone outside wouldn't see the room light up. Her back was now to Quinn, this was the best she could do right now, she couldn't be found out already.

"DarkStar!"

"Shhh, I don't want anyone to know I'm here" she whispered harshly

"My mom is a deep sleeper…" she was quick to reassure, but that wasn't the problem right now, Judy Fabray was no worry compared to everything else DarkStar had faced tonight "Are you on the run?" she was quickly up and trying to approach the figure she saw as a superhero.

"Stay back" DarkStar warned as she turned her head to the side, relying on shadow and her hood to cover her face, and held a hand out to signal the girl to stop.

"Your arms bleeding" Quinn breathed concerned "are you okay?"

"I'm fine" she kept her voice in a harsh whisper so Quinn wouldn't recognise her "it happened yesterday"

"…When you killed those 3?" the blonde asked cautiously

"…yes" She pulled back the curtains ever so slightly and peered out of the window "it's clear" DarkStar said mostly to herself. She went to hop out again when she felt someone pull on her wrist. She looked back over her shoulder, still hiding most of her face.

"Let me help you" Quinn offered, still glancing between DarkStar's hidden face and the open wound on her arm.

"I'll be fine… thank you" she added as an afterthought. DarkStar had never come into contact with anyone before who wasn't trying to kill her, other than her parents, of course.

"You don't have to hide, there's people out there who support you, myself being one of them" DarkStar new _the_ group talked about her at lunch but she never thought of it as support.

"Thank you for your support … and for not screaming, you don't even know me…" she leant forward to leave again, before she created any trouble. She'd had enough of that already tonight.

Quinn didn't release her hold "Are you really what the papers say, a murderer?" Rachel never thought she'd heard Quinn so timid or scared.

DarkStar sighed and sat on the window sill, one leg hanging outside "The people I killed were dangerous" was the simple answer she gave "Stay safe Quinn" she then dropped herself off the window ledge and landed with a roll, she surveyed her surroundings before scrambling to her feet and running off into the night.

Quinn was gobsmacked as she watched the mysterious DarkStar disappear into the night. She slowly closed the window, making sure to leave it open just an inch in case the mysterious girl came back.

She grinned childishly to herself and jumped back into bed: '_she knows my name!' _as she settled she questioned '_does that mean she knows me... do I know her?'_

…

DarkStar finally reached home, she went straight to the basement, put her equipment away and removed her hood, then her eye mask. She sat at the bar drinking a shot of Vodka that she usually, but not always, set out on the bar for herself. It was sort of like a victory drink when she got home safe, that and it calmed her nerves without messing with her head too much.

She then grabbed her medical kit and started cleaning her arm again. She'd have to work on her stitching skills. She stopped and poured herself another shot of vodka, she knocked the shot glass back and enjoyed the warm burn at the back of her throat from the clear liquid.

Before she continued the painful cleaning of her bullet wound and other cuts she earned from that evening's events, she held her wrist where Quinn had touched her to stop her running away, it was a simple touch but a brave one.

Rachel was always unsure how her school friends or acquaintances would actually react if they met DarkStar, she was pleasantly surprised to see that Quinn wasn't scared but more intrigued.

Most of the glee club group seemed interested in the character, it was always Mercedes and Kurt who put her down as DarkStar but they were her friends when she was Rachel... most of the time. Puck, Sam, Finn, Mike and Artie were all good friends of hers, so were Tina, Lauren and Brittany. Santana and Quinn were polite to her but it hadn't always been like that.

It wasn't until Glee club when she'd ever even had a civil conversation with any of them.

It wasn't until a couple of months before she'd ever put on that DarkStar uniform, when her intense training started, that she'd mellowed enough for them to find her bearable and truly become her friends. She wasn't stupid she knew she was intense before training had calmed her by basically tiring her out every day: she talked less, listened more and she wasn't as bossy when she was at school.

Once she was cleaned up she went to bed, it was already late, she had to write a memo so she wouldn't forget that one of her bikes was still parked in that alley. She hoped nothing had happened to it. She cherished all of DarkStar's things like they were her flesh and blood, and like in most families there were sometimes unfortunate losses.

She got in bed, to rest for a few more hours before she'd have to become Rachel Berry again, she'd have to go to school smile through any pain and pretend everything was okay.

She went to sleep thinking of the disaster tonight's mission had been, still not knowing who the third crime boss was and then the encounter with Quinn she got a little thrilled thinking: '_she cares about me, well DarkStar but that doesn't matter, she cares!'_

**Any thoughts?**

**I think I've had a little inspiration from Assassins Creed in here too.**

**I know I was going to leave this for a bit; but I couldn't help myself :P**

**I'm still interested if anyone has any ideas for super hero names for the other three girls. I've got some but I'm not sure on them. Thanks ****Meggymoo12****; I've used your suggestion and come up with a whole playful argument between Rachel against Santana and Brittany over what she wants to be called lol; so thank you!**


	3. So much for taking it easy

**AN: I was going to wait till after I posted the last chap of Unrecognised; but I'm pissed off with that now so here we are…**

**AN2: To: ****Dude****; I'm kinda starting to agree with you, with keeping Rachel as the only hero… but I want to keep to my original plan too: I don't plan on the others being heroes too until later; that's not going to happen till nearing the last quarter of the story so… well I just hope it doesn't put you off (any of you). Rachel will be the only Hero until nearing the last quarter of this (I'm not sure how long it's going to be… I kinda hope I can make it last around 20 chapters at least); okay? :/**

**AN3: To: ****sexyoutlaw****: I've taken your suggestions into account along with Meggymoo12's and I've come up with a few possibilities that need tampering with; for each character… so thanks for the help!**

**Posted: 20/9/11**

* * *

><p><span>So much for taking it easy<span>

Pain, that's what Rachel Berry woke up to the morning after assassinating 'The Raptor' and hiding out in Quinn Fabray's Bedroom. She wiped the sleep from her eyes then looked down at her aching forearms; she wasn't surprised when she saw the big dark purple bruises which had formed there. She figured they were from when she caught the ledge when she threw herself over the edge of the building to hide.

She decided a hot shower could only help relax her muscles. It wasn't often that the petite hero felt this much pain after a mission, so she was sure this time she had pushed herself past her normal physical capacity, she'd have to take it easy for the next week or so.

Once she was dry and clothed, she went downstairs and poured herself a fresh cup of coffee. The doorbell rang, so she answered it. There stood a middle aged delivery man with a fairly averagely small parcel, she signed for it before taking it inside.

She smiled to herself when she recognised the hand writing on the attached letter, she went to the basement, scanning her thumb as she passed the light switch and then sat on the sofa in one corner of the room to read the letter.

_Our Dearest Rachel_

_As promised, we sent you a little present. We hope it helps in your fight against the evil in Lima_

_Please take care of it; we designed it ourselves and it's a one of a kind piece of technology. Please  
>also find enclosed a set of hand written instructions to show you how it works and (your dad thought<br>it would be a good idea) also enclosed is the technical map for the device, in case it does get  
>damaged you can use this to fix it or make a new one.<em>

_We also set it up so it's easy to wear and accessible. _

_We love you so much, please be careful._

_Stay vigilant_

_From your ever loving parents; Daddy and Dad_

_Xxx_

As usual there were no promises of when they would see her again, she wasn't deluded, none of them were, they new the very real danger. There was that of those they were fighting and on the other side there was the law.

The letter still made her feel loved and comforted; as long as she still had the contact with them she wasn't completely alone.

She then tore open the cardboard packaged, and ripped the protective bubble wrap to reveal when looked like a seemingly basic digital watch

"Very clever daddy" she said to the empty room. She knew her daddy always looked at the practical side to their equipment while her dad was more about the technology needed to create them in the first place.

She checked the time, which was also on the watch shaped piece of camera jamming technology, well it just made sense for it to have a clock on it too, and realised she had to leave soon and she wasn't even dressed in that ridiculous get up yet.

She'd scraped her shins on the walls and tree the night before; so today would have to be a knee sock day. The injuries on her arms required a thick animal sweater but she could get away with the short skirt and usual shoes to finish the outfit. She then got her books ready, shouldered her bag, grabbed her keys. She was then out the door in her red mini cooper and on her way to school… another normal school day as Rachel Berry.

…

"Oh great, let me guess who you're talking about this time" Kurt moaned as he and Mercedes joined the rest of the group at their usual lunch table, he sat next to Rachel and Mercedes sat the other side of him. Puck was the other side of Rachel with Sam then Artie next to him, the other side starting opposite Artie was Mike then Tina, then Finn then Quinn Santana and Brittany. "You were talking about that deranged girl again weren't you?"

"Hey, Hummel if you don't like it, go sit somewhere else" Santana glared at the feminine boy opposite her

"No go on with your discussion, I just like to remind you of what she is"

"But did you read the stories in the papers this morning; or watch the news?"

"No Finn but I know you did?" Kurt pointed out to his step brother "I swear you're obsessed; are you forgetting that this is real life… those are real lives she takes"

"I think she's misunderstood" Quinn jumped in "her 'victims' are dangerous people"

"And how are you supposed to prove that, they found nothing bad on the people she killed"

"Because she told me!"

Everyone at the table stopped moving and stared intently in Quinn's direction. Even Rachel did so as to not look suspicious and simply to see what Quinn would say

"What do you mean: she told you?" Santana encouraged the short haired blonde next to her

"W-well last night… she was on the run I guess… on foot-"

"That's right the police found her bike in an alley" Finn butted in

'_Shit!' _Was all Rachel could think, she hadn't had a chance to read or watch any news reports, so she didn't know she'd truly lost her bike yet

"Shut up Finn, What happened, Quinn?" Puck asked intently

"She was in my room"

"What!"'s were yelled in different tones around the table; mostly in excitement but two in terrified shock.

"She was only there a minute, but she spoke to me, I told her I could help her"

"Why would you say such a thing?" Kurt asked as if she was crazy, he just received glares from round the table

"I only said because she was injured, her arm was bleeding and they were both bruised" Rachel hadn't even noticed in the dark "I asked her if she's what she's being called: 'a murderer' and she just said that the people she killed were dangerous, she then said 'stay safe _Quinn_'"

"She knows your name?" Puck asked with a tone of envy

Quinn tried to hide the smile by biting her bottom lip as she nodded in confirmation.

"Jealous Puckerman?" Santana asked

"You bet I am"

"How do you know she didn't read your name off of something in your room?" There Kurt went again dampening the excited discussion round the lunch table

"I don't know… but seeing as she never properly faced me or away from the window I don't see how she would have had any opportunity"

"Do you think she knows us then, if she knows Quinn?" Sam spoke up

"I'm not sure" The blonde in question replied "I said there was a group of us supporting her"

"Really?" Now it was Tina's turn to get involved "She might know about all us then"

"Does that mean we're like her fan club, I mean we talk about her a lot and Q's met her" the other blonde on the end of the table asked the group

"Well you can count me out, I'm no fan of hers"

"Me too" no guessing which too just announced that, the rest of the group annoyed them and continued

"Well Mike and Artie, you like comic books and stuff, what's your take on Lima's own?"

Mike answered first "Well, my thoughts are positive… I'd say so much more but I don't think Tina would approve" he took her hand and winked at her, she just smiled back, shaking her head

"Well I'm free to speak" Artie jumped in "I'd say she's hot"

"You haven't even seen her face" Mercedes lent forward and looked down the table to her friend"

"You don't need to see her face to just know"

"You like a girl with muscle then?" Puck quirked an eyebrow

"She'd be able to lift me easily" he shrugged with a smirk

"So you're calling dibs?" Puck asked

"Maybe"

'_So not my type' _Rachel sighed mentally before turning her attention back to the girl opposite her; she tried to gauge her reactions to the boy's conversations. She looked as if she wasn't paying attention

"What's your opinion, Rach?" Puck asked

"Um well… although she's definitely not of sound mind I think its nice to have such a colourful character in this often dull town. As long as she keeps the trouble on the other side of town, and none of us come to any harm I don't see the problem really"

"She's a criminal! Rachel I really thought you'd be on our side"

Before Rachel could come up with any sort of excuse Santana was back "are you going to argue with us every lunch time?"

"Are you all going to talk about this loon every lunch time?" He retorted. Since the group had become closer they weren't afraid to stand up to the Latina

"If she's made the headlines again then most definitely"

"Can we not fight please?" Rachel decided to step in. Her alter ego liked the attention but she didn't want it to split up the group "No we are all entitled to our opinions, maybe we could reduce the amount of talk about DarkStar and discuss other things… like song selection's for Sectionals"

For once the group calmed down and listened to the captain. Maybe it was the fact that she didn't order them round very often and this time she'd disguised it as a suggestion, or it was just that she was actually suggesting they think about the song selection, not just her taking over.

…

When Quinn got home her routine was the same as the day before, she got in greeted her mom, talked about her day briefly, then disappeared to her room with that mornings news paper. There wasn't a picture of DarkStar, but there was a picture of her motor bike, the one the police had found hidden in the alley.

She took out her sketch book and turned to a half finished drawing, it was a dramatic dark pencil outline sketch of DarkStar with her back pressed against the wall in Quinn's bedroom while peering outside while a police car drove past. There were other dramatic sketches; ones set in situations Quinn could only imagine. Now she had an image of DarkStar's bike she could draw more scenes.

As she did the day before, she added the article to the sketch book. She hid the books under her bed again before returning back down stairs for dinner. As she closed the door behind her she looked towards the window, a flash of a memory revisited her mind: the room dark and the figure taking refuge in the corner.

…

Rachel had to get to work on the Arc Zero project. She wrote the name on her white board in DarkStar's base. She closed her eyes remembering something from last night

_"What the fuck does that mean? Who or what is Arc Zero?" she was quickly growing impatient, the rest of his thugs might return at any moment_

_"I only know him by that, we've done b-business before in the dr-drugs circle, he's a young, African American, kinda large but d-don't underestimate him" this wasn't a man laying beneath her not a real man, he could only be in his early twenties; but she didn't feel guilty for what she was about to do; he'd done enough bad in his life he deserved this…_

_"Thank you" she took a knife and slit his throat leaving him to choke on his own blood._

The pieces of information 'The Raptor' had used to describe the last crime boss; she noted them on the board next to the code name.

She spent most of the evening with her maps and the bored trying to figure out which area he was most likely based in and who he was. For all she knew she could have hit one of his warehouses before and not even known it was his.

She was on her fifth cup of coffee since she'd got home and considering how strong she had it she knew there was no way she was going to be able to sleep any time soon. The lonely girl looked over at her the wall that was usually covered with guns; but taking out the most recent group had been damaging and she'd lost a lot of her equipment

"I think I need to restock" she smirked to herself

She stretched her arms and legs to make sure she wasn't in too much discomfort. Once she was sure she'd be fine she got ready. She didn't take a bike this time, this time she'd head out on foot and return with a new one. She also grabbed an empty back pack. She got a shot glass and left it on the bar with the bottle of Vodka next to it, as her mini victory for making it home again safe.

So much for taking it easy for the next couple of weeks...

…

'_Shit, shit, shit!' _DarkStar's breathing was heavy. She was trapped in a small office room that overlooked the warehouse floor, the thugs were approaching fast. She stood on the desk and reached up, bashing the grating for the air duct out of place and pulling herself up through the hole into the narrow space.

She stealthily crawled through the ventilation shaft, trying to remain calm even when she heard the shouts from the men below her. She was just hoping that they wouldn't fire randomly at the vent in hopes of killing her.

She stopped still and sat up; she pulled the now full back pack off her back. She'd used all the ammo she already had and she didn't want to go against men with shotguns when she only had knives left.

She had managed to find a stash of hand guns and loaded her bag with the heavy weapons. It wasn't until she went searching for a bike that she'd been seen. She couldn't believe herself for getting caught so easily.

'_Right, you came into the warehouse, on the north side; you got in through that window in that little office attachment to the building. That is now situated on your right, at least 25 guards stand between you and that exit; but then you're on foot… on your left your not 100% sure where this vent takes you, you know that the bikes and cars are roughly in that direction, but the amount of thugs between you and that destination is unknown'_. She ran these thoughts through her head as she loaded one of her newly acquired pistol's, she picked up 6 Beretta 92FS. She recognised them as reliable, so even if they weren't her favourites they were a good choice. She only picked up 6 because the bike had been the priority.

'_Taking into consideration the amount of equipment and vehicles stored here and the size of the place; he would have a maximum of 30 guarding this place… now add in the factor that both his competitors/ potential partners are dead, he's going to be scared so… at least 40 thugs are out there… I choose left'_

She sprung into action a gun in each hand. She crawled toward the unknown, when she came to the first optional exit she looked down, it was quiet; too quiet… on that note she continued through the duct further, the second exit was similar and would leave her in another office type room, so she continued further.

Her third possible exit was far more promising; she was directly over the bikes and cars, they all looked appealing but one bike caught her eye, it was a BMW bike in bright orange, okay so it wasn't the mot subtle of colours but she wanted it.

She then realised there was quite a distance between her and the ground and there were many thugs weaving in between the parked cars and bikes.

DarkStar couldn't see them all so she had to be silent and count different footsteps instead: another useful thing she'd been trained to do.

She counted 7, she could handle 7, she could even handle 7 whilst trying to start a bike she didn't have the keys too and having the threat of more killers bursting through the door at any moment; so of course this was going to be no problem for DarkStar.

She kicked the grating down and it landed on the floor with a crash; she then dropped herself fearlessly to the ground, the contact sent a shockwave thought her bones but other than that she was fine.

The first shot was fired hitting one of the men in the back of the head; the round went straight through spraying blood on the wall he was facing. The next one she got from behind too, only this time it was a clean shot through the neck, breaking it before cutting off his air supply by letting him choke on his blood.

A shot was fired by a thug, the round whizzed past her head, which she failed to notice how close it really was as it nipped her ear and made a hole in her hood. She casually continued and shot him straight between the eyes. Her aim was deadly and scarily accurate, the next two died almost simultaneously as she fired the two rounds quickly in succession, and they stood closely together.

Just two left, one fired a shot, hitting her bullet proof jacket in the side as she turned towards him. She fired quickly and his body dropped to the floor soon after. The last man dropped his gun and held his hands up in surrender. His knees trembled as she marched towards him.

She reached behind her, the young man looked as though he was about to cry

"Take this to your boss now!" she ordered giving him her calling card, that little rectangle with the dark blue star on it, he took the card and ran to the main exit whimpering as he went.

She wasn't stupid; she knew there was no guarantee he wouldn't just alert the other thugs; that is, if they weren't already in their way.

She quickly checked the bike for any tracking devices or explosives; once she knew it was clean, which only took a few seconds, she worked on starting the bike. A few seconds later she had the engine revving and she was out the door, she got to the end of the road leading to the warehouse and stopped.

Something didn't add up: no one was following her and no other men had turned up when she started shooting.

She nearly jumped out of her skin, when the warehouse she was staring up at exploded. It wasn't long until the building was engulfed in flames

'_This doesn't make sense… or does it? Maybe I was supposed to be in there when this happened'_

The flames smothering the structure reflected in her eyes as she sat on the bright orange bike processing what just happened

She was bought straight back to reality when she heard sirens quietly in the background

'_Or maybe this was if I got caught… still doesn't make much sense though'_

… By the time the cops, fire trucks and even news reporters were on the scene DarkStar was long gone…

* * *

><p><strong>Any thoughts? <strong>

**I'd very much appreciate your honest opinions; is this boring: what could be improved etc**

**I appreciate advice, suggestions, criticisms: go ahead, please do :) **

**Reviews are encouraging ;)**


	4. Connections

**AN: I'm not satisfied with this chapter, its basically filler, I'm trying to work on where this story's actually going and how its getting there…**

**Posted: 24/9/11**

* * *

><p><span>Connections<span>

DarkStar rode down the empty, dimly lit streets. She started to feel shaky, the material on her hood was irritating her ear and her side was in pain, as well as the rest of her body from the injuries from the night before. Her eye lids felt heavy, she thought she was going to pass out

'_Just a little further, stay awake, Rachel, Stay awake!'_

She turned onto her road, she accelerated not sure if she'd make it, the houses were passing her at an increased speed. Then finally she was pulling into the garage, she abandoned the bike there, hit the button to close the garage door and stumbled to the 'cupboard' that was actually an elevator.

She finally made it to the sanctuary of the basement; DarkStar pulled her hood back and dropped the cloak off her shoulders, onto the floor. She went straight to the nearest mirror and inspected her ear where she now felt a sharp pain. Her sight was hazy so she found it hard to focus

"Shit!" she blinked tightly trying to clear her vision and get a clearer look "Fuck!" she had a scratch on the side of her head, at the height of her eyebrow and there was apiece of her ear missing "Oh shit, fuck and shit again". She suddenly didn't feel so dizzy anymore. She grabbed he cloak from the floor and ran her hand along the inside of the hood. One of her fingers poked out of a 9mm hole "Oh shit" she breathed, her eyes wide "That was too close"

She then inspected the pain in her side; she removed the Kevlar vest and lifted the thin clothing underneath. The bullet that hit her was at close range, there was no visible damage and when she put pressure there; it hurt but nothing felt broken, yet she was sure there would be more bruising in the morning.

After checking her injuries and seeing that it could have been worse, she found that it was safe to take pain killers and finally go to sleep. She decided to process the events of that night, when she woke up.

…

Glee club rehearsal was first thing on a Wednesday morning; they all noticed the awkward silence in the room, but it was Finn who addressed it "Where's Rachel?" they all looked around to confirm she wasn't there

"That's not normal… she's normally the first one here"

Mr Schue walked in "Alright guy's lets get started"

"Wait, Mr S, Rachel isn't here" Tina interrupted

"Do you know if she's sick or something?" Mercedes asked

"I'm here" she walked through the door in her usual attire, but something didn't seem right with the rest of the club. One thing, Rachel was late! And another, she looked tired, really tired "I was just held up by a family thing, sorry for my lack of punctuality"

The truth was that, obviously, Rachel had, had a rough night sleep, which resulted in her waking up every fifteen minutes from 2:50 for an hour, before she gave in and took more pain killers, against her better judgement.

…

Rachel Berry was standing at her locker, exchanging books from morning lessons to the afternoon ones. She closed the door to her locker and turned to walk down the corridor. She was about to meet her friends in the cafeteria when a dishevelled boy, in a rush, knocked into her shoulder

"Sorry" he said shakily as he looked back at her but not slowing his pace. When Rachel made a connection with those eyes, memories flashed through her mind

'_I know that face' _She tilted her head in curiously before following the boy who was tearing down the hall way, but not actually running.

He was mumbling to himself, and looking down each alternate hallway as he passed them, he suddenly stopped and ran his hand through his hair.

'_Where do I know him from?' _She hid behind some lockers when he turned round. She wasn't really sure why she was hiding, they were in school and there were a few other students still wandering the halls.

Rachel heard him walk off again so she continued her subtle pursuit. He rounded a corner and she was reaching the same one when the memory of where she saw that boy hit her like the body colliding with the locker round the corner.

…_The last man dropped his gun and held his hands up in surrender. His knees trembled as she marched towards him._

_She reached behind her, the young man looked as though he was about to cry_

_"Take this to your boss now!" she ordered giving him her calling card, that little rectangle with the dark blue star on it, he took the card and ran to the main exit whimpering as he went…_

She moved in closer, pressing her back to the wall and listened closely

"You were supposed to be guarding that place"

Rachel recognised the voice so easily, and it suddenly everything clicked into place. It was so simple Azimio, Arc Zero it shouldn't have been that hard to figure it out, with the description given as well.

"I-I know" the boy trembled

"I knew I shouldn't have taken on the Raptors men, or taken over his warehouses… so what's your excuse?"

"W-well w-we thought we h-had her cornered-" he stopped when a fist collided with the locker next to his head, he would have tried to move but he was being held by the scruff of the neck of his shirt.

"Stop stuttering" was said lowly

"She j-just dropped down and took us all out"

"And why are you still here?"

"She gave me this" he handed his boss DarkStar's calling card

There was a moment of un-nerving silence "… DarkStar only leaves these on her victims… there's no way she'd leave a survivor"

"She did though!" the boy spat out "She wanted you to get the message"

"But surely she could have left it on your corpse for me to find"

"But she blew up the warehouse, with your other men inside" the informative was frantic to point out that fact.

The boss didn't reply to the assumption that DarkStar had blown up the warehouse "Maybe you're working with her" the boys eyes widened …then 6 words were muttered "Put him in the car compactor"

"What! No Please, no don't do this" the boy cried out as two other boys in letterman jackets dragged him down the corridor "Please, I didn't do anything, I'm on your side, don't do this to me please" he begged as they took him away.

Rachel watched helplessly and with guilt as they passed her, the desperation to get away on the boys face was unbearable to see.

Kurt and Mercedes were strolling along the corridor towards the worried brunette, when the same distressed boy passed them, still yelling

"God some people are so dramatic about a dumpster toss" Kurt said flicking his hair, Mercedes just chuckled in agreement

"Hey Rachel" The female diva greeted

"Oh, hi guys" she had to wipe away all signs of worry on her face as she talked to them... it was kinda hard though

"So this Saturday…" Mercedes voice faded into the background as Rachel tried to focus on the people round the corner still talking

"Arc, do you really think he was working with her?"

"Nah, she works alone, and I know she didn't blow up the warehouse… I did… all those guys working there that night were supposed to protect the Raptor the night she got him… they were disposable like his equipment that was being stored there"

"But she hit one of your warehouses the other night, didn't you need the men?" one of the other jackets asked

Rachel hadn't even realised she'd hit one of _his _warehouses

"We got a lot of new recruits from the Raptor, I just got rid of the ones I'm not sure I can trust"

Rachel's attention was bought back to her friends "Rachel, were you listening?"

"Sorry I zoned out" she replied, playing dumb for a second

"'Zoned out'?" Kurt furrowed his brow at her exact words "are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, just a little sleepy" she replied reassuringly

"Well as I was saying, this Saturday Quinn said she's throwing a party, just for us Glee kids, you going to go?" Mercedes asked

"Um, I might, I think I might have some family stuff that evening but I'll try to make it"

"So you don't want a ride with us?" Kurt asked to make sure

"That's very kind of you Kurt, but no thank you"

"Okay… so did you see-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I have to go, I forgot I have to do something" she quickly left with her lame excuse and left her two friends to watch her run down the hall way

"What's up with her?" the dark skin diva asked the feminine boy

He shrugged "I don't know, but she's acting really weird today, I mean she was late for school this morning and we had Glee rehearsal first thing… its so unlike her?"

"We should keep an eye on her… find out what's wrong" They nodded to each other before continuing on their way to the choir room to use the rest of lunch time for practice.

…

The short brunette reached her car quickly; she jumped in and took off, the front wheels of her car screeching in a wheel spin, drawing some unwanted attention. She was soon tailing the car she recognised as one of the jock's who she saw taking the boy away. She tried to remain inconspicuous by holding back as much as she could but it was difficult when she was in a distinctly shaped red car on empty roads through the industrial estate.

She was 99% sure of were they'd take him so she pulled into an alley, ran round the car to the boot. She removed the backing panel to the back row of seats to reveal one of her DarkStar outfits and a few weapons. She never worked during the day but this time a weird wave of guilt washed over her. She didn't even know the boys name but he was so young and last night she wouldn't have thought twice about shooting him in the head but now it was different.

She guessed that seeing him in daylight, as a fellow student, made his existence all that more significant.

DarkStar in the… not the cover of night, completed her journey on foot. When she reached the junk yard the boys in letterman jackets already had the other boy in a car ready to be crushed, he was till begging for his life.

She had to quickly formulate a plan… the one she came up with involved hanging back and hoping she didn't have to kill the other boys who were only following orders.

She was in luck; as soon as the jocks started the automatic crushing machine they were on there way. DarkStar darted towards the mechanism. It had already started its initial crush, turning the car on it's side. She climbed on top, being swift and careful to not get anything caught in the machinery, and before the car could be pressed any further, she reached in and pulled the frightened boy out. They both scrambled out and over the monstrous machinery and quickly jumped down, savouring the feel of solid ground beneath their feet.

DarkStar intentionally let the car finish being crushed so Arc Zero would think he was dead.

"Thank you" he breathed "Thank you so much DarkStar"

She wasn't really sure what to do now, this was the first time she'd actually rescued someone and she was now face to face with them

"Thank you… Rachel"

Her eyes widened "How do you know who I am?" She hid the worry that could have been evident in her voice

"Don't worry" he shakily reassured her "I figured it out just this minute… when I bumped into you in the hall way and then when I saw you hiding round the corner… its your eyes… they're a bit of a giveaway" he tried to say light heartedly. But Rachel was a little curious how this boy could recognise her by her eyes anyway.

"To be fair I never work during the day… and I'm sorry but I don't even know your name" she started escorting him back to her car

"Its Jack, and I guess that's all now that I'm dead"

"What about your parents?" she pulled apart the break in the chain link fence, where she'd broken in, in the first place, and let the boy through first

"Um… well I ran away… and obviously fell in with a bad crowd" he smiled sadly "you know, that cliché"

"Do you know where they are?" she asked

"I'm not sure… I ran away because we were moving house… it was only 7 months ago but I can't be sure where they are" He sounded embarrassed of his own behaviour and the irony of running away from home because you didn't want to move house.

They were now back at her car, she didn't have time to get changed so she stayed in her outfit. "Okay I've got a plan, its probably not the best one I've had seeing as I don't even know if I can trust you-"

"You can trust me, you saved my life. Keeping your secret is the very least I can do" he jumped in and tried to earn her trust

"Well the plan is you can stay at mine for a couple of days, while I track down your family"

"You'd do that for me" he looked over at her in surprise, she kept her eyes on the road

"I want you to be safe… I have to admit this is a first for me, I've never saved any one before"

"… thank you" he simply said again "Just thank you"

…

She spent the afternoon getting to know the boy the same age as herself. Of course it was awkward, she'd never been in this situation before, she was worried that at any moment she'd be ambushed in her own home. But from what she already knew, she didn't believe that the thankful boy sitting opposite her could stab her in the back, if he couldn't shoot her in the first place.

They were in the living room chatting mainly about there normal lives when Jack changed the subject "Arc Zero is dangerous, but he's not alone… he doesn't know this but his right hand man is trying to start his own gang, half of Arc's men are already secretly against him and he doesn't even know"

"Really? Thank you for that, it will save me so much time, so if Azimio is Arc Zero, who's his right hand man?"

"Karofsky" he stated taking a sip the coffee she'd got him

"Of course it is"

"If Azimio finds out, they'll probably fight it out, destroy each other and their gangs… but it wouldn't do any good to tell him"

Before Rachel could respond the doorbell rang. She furrowed a brow "Be quiet a minute" she instructed jack. He nodded quickly in understanding

She opened the door to find a girl with short blonde hair fiddling with her hands and staring down at them, standing there...

"Quinn?"

"Oh hi Rach-el" she added not jumping to shortened names yet "I didn't get to ask you, I'm having a get together this Saturday, just the glee club and I wanted to know in advance if you could make it"

'_Why not just text me?' _Rachel wondered "I'm not sure if I can yet. I hope I can but I won't know for sure until the last minute"

"Oh" she glanced at her feet before looking down "Well I'll put you down as a yes and then if you don't it doesn't matter"

'_Was it me or did she sound disappointed?'_ Rachel asked herself "Ok" Rachel nodded

"Um so… is everything okay… you mentioned you had family issues and then you skipped this afternoon" Quinn said trying to look past Rachel into the house, subtly

"Oh every things fine, my dad's aren't even in town at the moment, the truth is, I over slept this morning and-"

"Rachel Berry doesn't over sleep!" she exclaimed playfully

'_Are we having a civil conversation without others being here?' _Rachel asked herself "Well I did just this once" she said with a smile

"You know if there's a problem, we're here for you, we're your friends"

'_Whoa slight déjà vu then, but its comforting to hear either way, I never thought of them being supportive… just my school acquaintances/friends'. _She had to clear her throat of sudden nerves, having Quinn talk to her alone like this was... interesting. If only she could invite her inside "Thank you, but there's no need to worry, every things fine"

They were interrupted by a sneeze from inside the house

"I thought your dad's weren't here" Quinn furrowed her brow

"Oh that" Rachel closed the door more so that she was sandwiched in the opening "My cousin is staying over, he's a bit unwell so I don't recommend you coming" she tried to believe in her own excuses '_Now it sounds like your trying to cover up something'_

"O-kay" Quinn said slowly "Well I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah see you tomorrow" She replied quickly "Take care on the drive home" while her head asked her _'Too much?'_

She watched the blonde drive away before going inside and leaning against the door once it was closed, she huffed a sigh. _'Well that was… strange. Surely Mercedes and Kurt would have told her my answer to the party this Saturday… they're the school gossips of course they would have told her'_

'_...Maybe she was genuinely curios for your well being...'_ one thought from one voice occurred.

'_Don't get your hopes up, we both know you've have a crush on her since freshman year… just because she shows up randomly one night to see if you were okay and give you an invitation… and sound maybe a tiny bit disappointed with your answer… no you're out of your mind'_

'… _or am I?'_

"Um I'm going to go to bed, if that's okay, it's been a long day" Jack interrupted her internal discussion

"Oh yes, of course, good night"

"Good night Rachel and again, thank you" he offered with a shy smile and a nod of the head before ascending the stairs

Rachel went to bed soon after wondering why Quinn Fabray had really knocked on her door... but she fell asleep to the warm reminder that she had friends, whether she was Rachel Berry or DarkStar…

* * *

><p><strong>Any thoughts?<strong>

**Reviews are encouraging ;)**

**Suggestions are still most welcome :)**


	5. Party

**AN: Thanks for the reviews… I hope you like this :/**

**Posted: 26/9/11**

* * *

><p><span>Party<span>

Rachel was in her English class when she made a vital mistake. As the class sat in silence working through the task set by the teacher, she innocently tucked her hair behind her ear, she was lucky that a few strands fell forward again covering the ear, itself, so that it wasn't visible however the scratch level with her eyebrow being held together with plastic stitches was now very visible.

Quinn just happened to be sitting one row over and behind Rachel, next to Santana, and it just happened to be the side where Rachel's head injury was visible.

Quinn wasn't sure what was wrong with her lately, but Santana could see that Quinn was infatuated with Rachel... why though, Santana didn't have a clue

As Quinn looked up to watch Rachel for the third time that lesson she saw the cut and was immediately worried. To be fair, most of the club were worried about the petite diva, after her being late, then skipping school and looking so run down lately, they could only wonder what was wrong.

Quinn had some theories but she didn't want to share them, they weren't the sort of accusations you'd want to make without more proof

"Rachel!" the short haired blonde whispered harshly, while glancing between the brunette and the teacher who was more interested in marking papers at his desk "Rachel!" Santana also turned her attention to the girl next to her, then to Rachel, also noticing the cut and stitches on the side of her head.

The brunette turned round and replied in the same tone "Yes?"

"What happened to your head?" she ran a finger over the side of her own head to make what she whispered clearer

Rachel pulled her hair back quickly to cover her injury and then opened her mouth to reply when another voice interrupted them

"Miss Fabray, Miss Berry, I do hope you weren't going to have a discussion in the middle of my class"

Rachel faced the front again "No Sir" they said in unison

"Good" he lowered his head back to his papers

Rachel looked back at Quinn and mouthed 'I'll tell you at lunch'

Quinn nodded in reply

…

"So Rachel" Quinn began as she pushed her food round the plate with her fork "How did you cut your head?"

"She cut her head?" Puck asked turning to the short brunette next to him, the rest of the group turned their attention to her also

"Um well" she started putting her fork down "I wasn't looking where I was going, near the science block and I walked into an open window catching the side of my head"

"Let me see" Finn called down the table

She sighed but turned her head and carefully pulled her hair back just so they'd see the cut and not her ear

"Ouch, that looks deep… how distracted were you?"

"Her mind was probably in some Broadway musical" Kurt chuckled from her other side

She just rolled her eyes "Yeah sure Kurt" she then smiled

"You goof, walking into a window" Puck laughed punching her playfully in the arm

No one but Quinn opposite her noticed the small girl wince at the light contact on her arm. Rachel noticed Quinn's concerned look so she changed her expression quickly to a bright, over the top, smile. She avoided Quinn's gaze for the rest of lunch.

…

"Good afternoon Jack" Rachel startled the boy who was lounging on the sofa in front of the T.V. by entering the house via the basement

"Rachel! I didn't here you come in" he exclaimed sitting up abruptly

"Obviously" she said as the boy sat up "I parked in the garage then took my new bike to the basement, I need to work on it this afternoon, it needs a new ignition and then I'm going to paint it… I don't think bright orange works so well with my outfit" she finished with humour

He laughed lightly "Do you want any help? I really wouldn't mind"

"Sure, I could do with some assistance" she put her bag down and sat on the other sofa "Oh that reminds me" she pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket "The results on your search for your parents came through" she passed in the sheet "Does the information seem correct?"

He read through the information listed "That sounds like them, yeah that's my mom's family… and that's my dad's business"

"I can get you on a flight for tomorrow afternoon" she said

"Really? Thank you… I'd love to get home as soon as possible… Not that I don't appreciate everything you've done and are doing for me… its just-"

"You don't feel safe here? And you want to go home" she asked, he nodded with a shy smile "I can understand that"

A short while later they were in the basement working on the bike, when Rachel struck conversation she'd been planning on avoiding for Jack's sake

"I wasn't going to talk about it, but I don't suppose you have any more information on Arc Zero or Karofsky"

"Well I know Karofsky meets with his men on Saturday nights at 9pm, at the same place you saved me from the car crusher… he actually owns that place, its one of Arc's most popular places to get rid of 'evidence'. I only know all this because my best friend, Jayden, was trying to persuade me to join them… I never killed anyone Rachel" he paused what he was doing and looked at her seriously "I never even fired the gun, I only joined for the protection, you have to believe me"

"Don't worry I believe you, you had many opportunities the other night to shoot me and you didn't… so what about your friend, does he need saving?"

"…No" he answered sadly "He's lost, like the rest of them… they don't show mercy, they throw life away without thinking… he started picking on me, just like the rest of them… they're all cold and heartless and given the opportunity they _will _kill you" he was quiet for a moment looking down at the tools in his hands "I'm heartless too, I just signed their death certificates by telling you to kill them"

She put her hand under his chin and made him look at her "Look at me" he reluctantly met her eyes "They signed their death certificates by falling into Lima's underworld… and I'm the one that confirms them dead… this is in no way your fault you remember that" she released his face

He nodded and tried to believe her words

"You are a good person, Jack. You never did any wrong, remember, like you just told me, 'You never even fired a gun'"

"But all those I saw get killed, the ones that were dragged away just like I was… I did nothing to help them"

"If you had, you would have only been killed you sooner" she warned him "There was nothing you could do, and I need you to accept that and live your life knowing that you did no wrong, you can't spend the rest of your life with this guilt you don't deserve"

"You really believe I don't deserve it?" he asked meekly

"Yes I do" she announced with confidence "Come on" she stood up "Lets go get some food, I'm hungry" she offered with a smile, he smiled back and followed her out of the basement.

…

"Well this is goodbye Jack" Rachel said as she stood as far as she could go in the airport

"Thank you again Rachel, you have no idea how much this means to me" he smiled, before hesitantly hugging her, she was shocked at first but soon returned the hug. He pulled back "You take care of yourself" he said in a serious yet friendly tone

"I will, you be careful out there yourself, I don't want you falling in with any more bad crowds"

"Believe me, I won't" he said with confidence "You take care… and go to that party tonight, you need to relax, have a bit of fun… and you need to keep your friends close… you don't need your enemies any closer though" he smirked

She chuckled slightly "I think that's a good idea, I've enjoyed your company lately… I could do with more" she looked up at the boards for the airplane schedules "Looks like you're boarding"

He looked up too "Yeah looks like I am, thank you, I know I've said it a million times but I really mean it"

"Stay Vigilant"

He furrowed his brow at her words but returned them "Stay Vigilant"

These two words were word she and her fathers would say to one another but she hadn't had contact with them for a couple of days, and it always comforted her to say these words, and to here them.

She watched him walk away out of sight, before turning and leaving in the opposite direction, she had some spying to do tonight and then a party to attend

…

DarkStar lurked behind a short pile of crushed cars as Karofsky assembled his men. In the well lit open area she could see their faces so easily, it made her feel sick when she realised so many of these young men went to McKinley High School. It was at that moment she hoped she could take the leaders down without too many others losing their lives.

After getting to know jack, she didn't think she could take a life so easily now. Before she just saw criminal thugs and she was in a situation where it was her or them, one of them had to die, so she had no choice in those situations, it was kill or be killed. But she felt different now; were there more like Jack, they all looked so young, where there more who were innocent.

Rachel shook the thoughts away; she couldn't let this weaken her, it was too late anyway, she'd killed many guilty men, Azimio and Karofsky needed to be stopped

"Okay men, Arc has a new shipment coming in on Wednesday, the shipment is split between 3 trucks. Everyone knows the plan, we are to meet here at precisely 00.10 in your DarkStar costume. We will be intercepting the trucks and scaring him into thinking that she's not alone, we will be using our common enemy against him. This shipment is more than enough for our strike against Arc Zero and the remainder of his followers that takes place in exactly four weeks tonight"

After Karofsky's speech DarkStar crept away back to her newest motor bike that she was hiding in another alley. She didn't need to cause any trouble tonight and besides she really wanted to go to the party.

At first the idea of many men dressed disguised as her worried her; but now she realised she could use it to her advantage… it was perfect camouflage

…

DarkStar rolled her bike towards the Fabray residence, so as to not draw attention to her presence. She wheeled it to the side of the house where she was able to hide it in the bushes. She then took the back pack off her back and took out the clothes. She had to change quickly in case someone saw her.

It didn't take long for DarkStar to change into Rachel Berry… well not the Rachel Berry they were more recently familiar with at school but she was herself, in navy blue jeans, black v-neck t-shirt, black converse and a thin grey, zip up hooded sweatshirt, which she wore open.

Also she wouldn't be Rachel Berry if she didn't take something with her, so in one hand she held a bottle of vodka. She threw her bag in the bush with the bike before walking round the house to the front door, she was only half way up the porch steps when the front door opened causing her to pause in her movements. A blonde with short hair exited the noisy home, she closed her eyes and exhaled loudly, then turned and went over to the bench dropping herself down onto the seat.

"Quinn?"

Rachel's voice startled the girl "Rachel, when did you get here?"

"Erm just now" she finished climbing the short set of steps and approached her… friend? "My cousin had a late flight and I drove him to the airport"

"Oh I-I'm glad you made it though… is your cousin feeling better?"

Rachel furrowed her brow forgetting what she'd told Quinn the other day… "Oh! Yeah he's fine, it was just typical that he came to visit me then was ill while he was here"

Quinn nodded but didn't really say anything

"… So is the part going well?"

"Yeah, there's a lot more alcohol than normal, but I've only had 3 drinks" she shrugged and they were quiet again.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked cautiously, whilst sitting down next to the other girl

"I don't know… I need to know, are you okay?" she nervously threw the question back at the brunette

"What do you mean?" Rachel said shaking her head gently to emphasise her confusion

"We're your friends Rachel, you know you can trust us, you can trust me" Quinn said with softness in her voice and true honesty in her eyes... it was weird to say the least.

"Okay… but I'm not sure I understand why you're saying this Quinn" Rachel chuckled nervously

"Something's not right about you, you were late the other day, you weren't talking the way you usually do, you skipped last lesson, you have a cut on your head and when Puck touched your arm yesterday you winced. You were acting weird when I showed up at your house the other night and you didn't seem to remember what you told me about your cousin, leaving me to believe you made his visit up… I want to make a serious accusation, but I don't want to offend or scare you"

'_She doesn't know she can't possibly, she only met DarkStar once for a few minutes… she can't have made a connection' _Rachel denied mentally. She swallowed thickly before nodding"Go ahead"

"Rachel, a-are you being… abused?" Quinn asked quietly and hesitantly

"What!" Rachel's eyes widened "No, no, no I'm not, seriously, it's not that I swear"

"You will tell m- us if something wrong right?" she caught herself before she offered her individual support to Rachel a little too obviously

"Yeah… but you don't have to worry, nothing is wrong, really" Rachel decided it was best to change the subject "Um I bought you this… like a hostess' gift" she passed the now quiet blonde the bottle

"Oh thank you, but you should keep it, in fact hide it, Santana wanted to play a game with shots but we haven't got any shot worthy alcohol… luckily" she added with a light laugh, lightening the mood "I don't feel like sharing my secrets or humiliating myself with a bunch of drunk teenagers"

Rachel chuckled "Well you keep it anyway… and hide it"

"Thank you" Quinn accepted the bottle "And thanks for showing up..."

They kept eye contact Quinn looked as if she was about to say something else when noise erupted from the house as someone opened the front door.

Mercedes and Tina fell out the open door laughing to one another, that was enough for Rachel to know they were drunk "Quinn, Santana's come up with a game"

"Oh yeah" Quinn sighed "What is it?"

"I dunno, she told me to get you" Mercedes shrugged still holding the plastic cup, clumsily tipping its contents onto the porch floor

"Raachelll!" Tina exclaimed. The two sober people sat there didn't think they'd ever heard their usually nervous friend speak so loud before "You're here, good you can join in the game"

Mercedes grabbed Quinn's hand dragging her back into the house, Rachel managed to hid the bottle of vodka behind a plant pot before Tina could pull her into the party.

"Hey Rach" Puck called out, standing by a table covered with bottles and cups, "Do you want a drink" he offered waving a beer bottle at her

"Don be stupid Puck, you know Rachel doesn drink since her party las year" Finn slurred

"More for me" Puck shrugged using the bottle opener to remove the cap from the bottle, he went to take a swig when she casually snatched it from his hand, smirking at him as she drank from the bottle, she then sauntered away joining the rest of the group as Santana gathered them

"So what's the game?" Quinn sighed, now realising that maybe a party wasn't the best excuse to just try and spend time with her friends

"Spin the bottle-"

"San really that's what you came up with" Quinn dead panned

"I'm not finished yet" the Latina glared at her friend "Spin the bottle with a blindfold"

"I repeat that's what you came up with" she said again humorously in the same tone as before

Santana just glared at her again, although it wasn't as easy when the girl was on the brink of_ that_ stage of drunk where she got all weepy, she was already swaying where she stood

"Fine how does that work?" Quinn gave in and let them have their fun. Rachel was finding the back and forth between the two ex-cheerio's, kind of amusing.

"Well" Santana began to explain "The person who spins the bottle wears the blindfold so they don't know who they kiss, and so we don't know who it is we just take turns by going round the circle"

"That's it?" the Latina confirmed with a nod "Fine who's going first?"

The group gathered in the middle minus Kurt and Mercedes who decided to just watch. Rachel downed the rest of her drink before getting another one, trying to catch up with the others.

"I'll go first as it was my idea, do we have a blindfold"

Quinn found a black scarf and passed it to her friend, she ended up helping Santana put the blindfold on before they both sat down again, Brittany guided Santana's hand to the bottle placed in the middle so she could spin it. The bottle landed on Finn, he leaned across the circle and planted a sloppy kiss on Santana's lips, it didn't last very long and as he pulled away Santana wiped her mouth on her sleeve "Eww, thanks Finnocence" she then slipped the scarf off from round her head and smirked at him

"Wait are we supposed to guess who it is?" Rachel asked unsure

"No" Santana answered abruptly "It was just too easy to tell it was him, Britt your turn next"

Brittany was kissed by Tina, for Santana the kiss lasted too long, Mike enjoyed the scene and from what Rachel could tell of the tall boy sat next to her with his hands in his lap and his almost silent repetitive muttering, he was rather enjoying the display too.

Artie was next, he was kissed by Quinn it didn't last too long. Tina was then kissed by Sam, again, no one made a big deal of that one. Then it was Mike's turn he was kissed by Santana, Brittany did look a little jealous at that one.

Next it was Rachel, Quinn tried so hard to not show her disappointment, an emotion she wasn't even sure why she was feeling anyway, when Rachel spun the bottle and it landed on Puck, who was sat right next to Quinn. If Santana hadn't been so out of it, she probably would have see the jealousy on her friends face as Puck lent across the circle, and pulled Rachel into a hungry kiss, it wouldn't have been as sloppy if neither of them were drunk but it didn't slow them down. Rachel smiled as Puck tried to deepen the kiss, she was now 100% sure she knew who she was kissing. When he pulled away she whispered "Did I bite you again?" to let him know she knew it was him. The rest of the group heard, they now knew that something had transpired between the two at some point. This caused more emotion to stir in the pit of Quinn's stomach, she wasn't sure what to call it, we'd call it jealousy.

After Rachel it was Finns turn, she guided his hand to the bottle, he spun it… it landed on Sam. The rest of the people in the room giggled and sniggered. Mercedes and Kurt were particularly enjoying themselves in the corner. Sam face palmed before quietly moving to kneel in front of Finn. Everyone saw the cringe on his face as he carefully leaned in to try and deliver the quickest kiss possible on Finns lips "It has to be a proper kiss like everyone else" Santana warned "Or there's a forfeit and believe me you don't want the forfeit" she sniggered.

Sam glanced back at her to glare before continuing with his mission. He started to softly kiss Finn and it was going smoothly until Finn bought his hand up to hold the back of Sam's head, Rachel almost burst out laughing, because from where she was sitting she could see Sam's eyes widen. It was obvious Finn was enjoying this too much, and that he obviously had no idea who was kissing him. Sam immediately swatted the hand away then pulled away completely, silently scrambling back to his seat next to Finn before he could find out who it was.

Finn looked way too satisfied for anyone to keep a straight face, they all laughed at him, he didn't notice how quiet Sam was next to him. He also didn't acknowledge the way Sam snatched the scarf away from him when he tried to help the blonde boy tie it round his head. This only caused more giggles from the witnesses. The tall oblivious boy just smiled friendlily and went back to his drink.

Sam spun and it landed on Brittany, Santana's jealously grew, she wanted to make a comment about owning Brittany but she couldn't because it would give away who was kissing Sam. Quinn had to hold her back from pulling the pair apart. It was different than from when Brittany was being kissed but now Brittany was in control of the kiss. After what felt like an eternity for a certain bossy Latina they finally broke apart and Brittany was sat back next to her girlfriend… where she belonged.

Puck was next, his kiss was with Tina, no one made a big deal out of it, Mike trusted his girl friend and one of his best friends and he understood that it was just a game.

Last to play was Quinn. Puck helped her with the blindfold and then guided her hand to the bottle, she spun it… it landed on Rachel. Mercedes and Kurt's reactions were similar to the Finn and Sam situation. The other boys watched intently as Rachel nervously shuffled across the middle of the circle, their teenage minds waiting patiently for what they hoped would be another 'hot' girl on girl kiss. Rachel knelt in front of the girl she had a crush on, she gently placed a hand on each of Quinn's shoulders to hold her there and let her know she was approaching. She wanted to be staring into those hazel eyes so much. She leant in, then pulled back a mere centimetre in hesitation before driving forward again, their lips met so softly, the brunette's eyes drifted closed. Rachel initiated the movement but it wasn't long before Quinn was reciprocating it, they soon found a steady rhythm to move to. Rachel ran her tongue across Quinn's bottom lip, the blonde soon allowed Rachel access, their tongues met in a slow and sensual dance. Quinn couldn't suppress the moan she let out.

Rachel eventually pulled away when Santana cleared her throat. When she opened her eyes she was disappointed, yet again, to not meet hazel ones looking back at her but the black material of the scarf. She stealthily moved back to her place before Quinn removed the blindfold.

When she did she looked at the others round the circle, trying to gauge everyone's current states and reactions.

"Okay, I think, as I made up the rules the last one is, you can't ask who kissed you… it just makes it more fun" Everyone agreed before moving form the circle now that the game was over. The party went on with music and alcohol for a few more hours before people started to sleep where they dropped. Rachel was the last one awake. She was also the most sober of the group, Brittany and Santana were sleeping next to one another on one sofa, Finn had been put on the other sofa by Puck as he'd been the first to pass out, Mercedes, Kurt, Puck and Sam were just laying by them selves in random places on the floor. Mike and Tina were cuddled up together on the floor in font of the sofa Santana and Brittany were asleep on. Artie was asleep in his chair, Rachel was sure he'd have severe neck ache when he woke.

Quinn was curled up on the floor alone; Rachel couldn't let Quinn sleep there, so she gently picked her up, hoping she wouldn't wake, and carried her to her room. She was careful to mind the slumbering girls head on any walls or door frames. As the brunette made it halfway up the stairs, she tensed as she felt the blonde move, luckily she didn't wake tough, she just nuzzled into Rachel neck. Rachel held her breath before continue up the stairs, she finally made it to Quinn's room, she carefully laid the girl down and pulled the sheet over her. It was so tempting to kiss her on the head, but she decided it was best not to. She quietly left the room, pulling the door to behind her and went back down stairs. She took the empty armchair and eventually fell asleep thinking of the kiss with Quinn, something she'd wanted for so long, even if she'd never admitted it to herself…

* * *

><p><strong>Any thoughts?<strong>

**Let me know what you think...**

**Suggestions always welcome (as well as criticisms etc)**


	6. Revealed truths

**AN: sorry for the wait, I keep getting stuck with this, I'm kinda writing it off the top of my head… So yeah: here you go :/**

**AN2: I remember what I wanted to mention last time: just that this is slightly AU so they're all friends and some of them have dated before, but they're on good terms now…**

* * *

><p><strong>Posted: 910/11 (yay I can count!)**

Revealed truths 

_A soft kiss is placed on your lips, its simple and delicate but just right. After just a moment those lips move against yours in a familiar routine. You can't see anyone or anything in front of you but it doesn't matter; the kiss is comforting; as if you already know the other person._

_You feel two strong arms slide round your waste and gently pull you forward, so your bodies are pressed together and straight away you know the other person is female. It doesn't bother you because this feels like it's meant to be, you don't pull away this is perfect, amazing even. You now find yourself reaching out into the dark and placing your own hands on either side of her face; you can feel a thick heavy material barrier between your hand and her head._

_The kiss deepens when you feel her gently run her tongue along your bottom lip, and you try not to let her know just how eager you are by allowing access too quickly. Her tongue slides against yours teasingly before she allows the rhythm and sensual 'dance' to start. This feels so familiar, like the persons identity is on the tip of your tongue… well she is but not in that sense_

_Your vision starts to clear as she pulls away; you can't help the whimper that escapes as her lips do, caused by the sudden loss of contact. You can see the shadow of her face; obscured by her hood._

"_I'm yours" she whispers_

"_My DarkStar" you giggle, unexpectedly _

"_Yes, your DarkStar" she giggles too, her voice and that laugh are so familiar and it makes you smile._

_You slowly run your hands from the place they were settled to the edge of her hood, you grip the edges gently and start to peel it back._

_She stops you by placing her leather gloved hands gently on your wrists "No" she whispers as soft as her kisses_

"_Please" you whisper back with that smile you know she can't resist_

"_Okay" she lets go and you pull the hood back to reveal her face with her eye mask still on_

"_You're beautiful" you hear yourself say as you lean forward and rest your forehead against hers_

"_Not as beautiful as you" she says back before delivering a quick yet still soft kiss to your lips once again._

_You're talking to one another as if you're together, an item, girlfriend and girlfriend, and it feels so right._

"_I love you" she sighs as she looks slightly up into your eyes, those dark eyes of hers allow you to look deep into her soul and you see the love she has for you, it makes you heart melt._

"_I love you too Rachel Berry"_

Quinn Fabray woke violently, sitting up in bed, her heart was beating erratically, her breathing unsteady. She then dropped back to her pillow when she felt the thumping in her head. She didn't hear the faint distant rumble of a motorcycle engine outside.

"What the hell was that" she muttered to herself "Rachel Berry and DarkStar? What is wrong with me?" she stopped her muttering for a moment, something was wrong '_how the hell did I get up here?'_ She thought, her eyes shooting open once again and looking round the room to see if she was alone, she even checked herself, looking down and then lifting the sheet "Thank god, I'm not naked" she sighed with relief, before shuffling back and leaning against the head board.

She looked over at her alarm clock, the numbers 06:12 shone brightly in fluorescent green. It was early but she couldn't sleep anymore, even if she had only slept for a couple of hours. Also she wanted to know how she got upstairs and she needed pain killers for her headache.

'_Right, so Finn passed out, San and B were asleep on the other sofa, Tina and Mike on the floor… I know Mercedes and Kurt also fell asleep on the floor… and then I fell asleep on the floor, so why am I up here?... I wake up after that fantas-Dream!'_ her mind screamed its correction '_And pain killers! I need pain killers, f-for my head ache'_

She got out of bed and went straight downstairs; she looked over at the scattered slumbering bodies and noticed two were missing: Puck and Rachel

She went into the kitchen and found one of the missing two. Puck was getting himself a glass of water "Morning" she muttered

"Morning" he returned quietly

"Puck?" she asked as she got herself a glass of water.

"Uh-huh" he replied as he threw the glass back, trying to re-hydrate.

"Do you remember last night?" she drank half the glass, instantly feeling some relief on her head, she then opened the cupboard above the sink and took out a packet of pain killers.

"I didn't drink that much" he sounded a little insulted

"Sorry, I just wondered if you knew what happened to me after I fell asleep" she asked sheepishly "I thought I fell asleep over there near the arm chair but I woke up in my room" she took two tablets then offered the box to puck who did the same

He smirked at her question "yeah I know what happened" he took a seat at the breakfast bar, she took a seat perpendicular to him "Some one saw you and then they picked you up and took you upstairs and don't worry they were back down here quickly"

"Did you..?"

"Nope not me" he smirked again "it's the same person who kissed you in the blindfolded spin the bottle last night" he hinted "… and judging from that kiss and the way they were… admiring you before they picked you up, bridal style, and took you to your room. I'd say someone has a little crush on you" he sing-songed

"Really?" she sounded a little worried

"Yeah, definitely"

"Who was it?" she asked

"Can't tell you" he leant over and nudged her in the arm with his elbow "Santana's rules"

"Oh like that really matters, it was just a game" she propped her head up with her hand, her elbow supported by the counter.

"I'm still not telling you, it's not my place… I can't tell you their secret" he explained

"Fine" she grumbled folding her arms on the surface in front of her and resting her head on her arms. They were quiet for a moment before she peered up at him "Is it Sam?"

"What?"

"I'm not saying that I think Sam has a crush on me but if it wasn't you and Finn had passed out, it must be Sam right, he's the only one left who would be able to carry me"

He smiled at her and shook his head at her persistence "I told you I'm not telling you who it was… why do you want it to be Sam?"

"No!" she answered too quickly "I mean, Sam and I dated for a month or so last year shortly after he moved here"

"Okay, so what did you think of the kiss?" he smirked wanting all the personal details and letting Quinn dig her own hole.

"I'm not falling for that Puckerman" she sat up properly again "It was Sam wasn't it" she looked at him intently waiting for his answer

"Just so you'll shut up about it, no it's not Sam… but that kiss did you like it?" he tried his hardest not to grin knowingly at her

"It was-" she stopped herself to glare at him "You repeat this to no one"

"I promise I won't say a word" he rolled his eyes "So what did you think?"

After one last second of glaring her expression softened as she reminded herself of the kiss. She was curious to why he was so interested but answered anyway "It was amazing, and I know it wasn't even the alcohol talking, I hadn't had that much before the game"

"You were so quiet after it happened"

"I was stunned" she blurted out, then turned red once she realised what she'd said "Why did you ask?"

"Well judging from the moan you gave when they stuck their tongue done your throat-"

"Do you have to be so vulgar!" she slapped his upper arm, but he chuckled when he saw her face reddening from her embarrassment

"That good was it?" he couldn't help smirking

"If you must know…" she smiled to herself "it was probably the best kiss I've ever had… which I guess isn't really saying much as I've only ever kissed you and Finn before"

"But the mystery kiss, you really liked it?" he asked for a last bit of confirmation, and so Quinn would dig that hole a little deeper s she could never climb out

"Yes, at the risk of you mocking me, I really did, it was perfect" she sighed "What about you, did you like your mystery kiss?"

"Yeah, Tina's not a bad kisser"

"How did you know it was her?" she moaned disappointed that she couldn't figure hers out.

"Well I knew it was a girl and I'd kissed all the others in that circle before and you, san, Britt and Rach all have memorable kisses"

"Really? Noah 'Puck' Puckerman remembers something as simple as kisses"

"When there as good as you four? Yeah I do" he laughed

…

20 minutes earlier

Rachel's internal alarm clock woke her at precisely 6am, which was perfect because she still needed to get her, well actually DarkStar's, bike home without being seen. She looked around to see she was the only one awake; the others were exactly where they'd fallen asleep. She stood up and crept to the front door, careful not to tread on anyone and silently opened the front door. She was careful closing it too.

She went to the side of the house and checked there were no witnesses before she reached into the bush and found her back pack with her DarkStar uniform in it. She then reached in and wheeled her bike out. She decided to pull her hood up to partially hide her identity in case some one did see her.

She decided to push the bike away from the house before starting it so she didn't wake any of the, soon to be, hung over people in the Fabray house.

…

Monday lunchtime

It wasn't until lunch time that the entire group were back together, there was no DarkStar news so their discussions were else where: wither music or the party. They were sat in their usual places; again Quinn was opposite Rachel. The discussion was back to the party game that was played that night.

"That was so funny though, Santana you got so jealous when Tina was making out with Brittany" Kurt couldn't help himself, as Mercedes chuckled with him

"My Kiss was with Tina!" the taller blonde sounded surprised, she looked down the table to the normally shy girl "It was so good, nearly better than San"

The Latina face palmed as her girlfriend spoke. Tina blushed and looked away, while Mike put an arm round her and smiled, amused at her reaction. Santana eventually raised her head to glare at the two opposite her "I said we'd keep them secret" mainly because she couldn't be bothered with this discussion right now

"Yeah can we stop talking about it" Sam fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably

"What's wrong with you?" Artie asked next to him

Sam just glared at him before gesturing with his eyes to the oblivious tall boy over his shoulder

Artie replied with a silent 'oh' and nodded

"Well I think it was a good game, thanks to the scarf we're still talking about it" Finn said smiling and glancing at Rachel

"What are you so happy about?" Santana the bitch was making an appearance thanks to being reminded of the Brittany/Tina kiss that left her more than a little jealous.

"I may have drunk the most that night, but I still remember it pretty well" he winked at Rachel as he caught her eyes

She just smiled to herself, knowing what Finn was assuming and remembering the look on Sam's face when Finn reached to pull him closer.

"So you know who kissed you?" Santana lent forward to look past her best friend and smirk at Finn

"I have a pretty good idea" yet again he was glancing up at Rachel as he ate

"So…. Who was it?" she pushed

"Santana don't be mean" Brittany whined from next to her

"Yeah Santana, drop it!" Sam glared down the table

"It was Rachel right?" Finn assumed

A few giggles, two lots of full blown laughter and a face palm were the reactions round his obliviousness

"No it was Sam" Quinn couldn't help herself. Finn froze in his seat

"Oh thanks a lot Fabray, just so you know Rachel kissed you" Sam was acting on his embarrassment and was just trying to move the attention off of himself. He'd feel sorry later

Quinn went ghostly pale, linking the new information with what Puck had told her Sunday morning. She looked at the Mohawked boy who was silent, looking back at Quinn; they then simultaneously looked to Rachel who was looking at her lap

"Ah, um, I have to go" she muttered, excusing herself from the table and leaving the cafeteria

Quinn's mind raced as she watched the brunette go _'Puck had to be lying, there's no way Rachel could… feel things for me, I was such a bitch to her and… I mean- well, she just couldn't and I… well I… oh god what about that dream, it didn't mean anything, it couldn't…'_

Sam tried to look fro Rachel that afternoon, but he couldn't find her. He wasn't sure why but he realised he'd embarrassed her, he also apologised to Quinn for snapping like that. No one saw Rachel for the rest of the day, she didn't show up at all on the Tuesday either

Needless to say Finn and Sam avoided each other too.

…

Wednesday morning 00:10

She'd skipped school on the Tuesday, mainly to avoid any possible awkward conversation or interaction with certain people/person, but also to use the time to be prepared for that night.

DarkStar held back in the car grave yard as Karofsky assembled his men, as they assembled and planned she saw as they had been told they were all dressed like her. She casual slipped in and joined the gathering with some of the others.

"We will leave on foot, the road we are targeting is not far from here, we will hide at different points along the road and when I give the signal we take the trucks" he instructed the group, there was around 50 with him, DarkStar realised that this wasn't all his ally's but it must have been the majority of them.

The disguised thugs were first given their guns, the crates they were being handed from contained a myriad of different types, shapes and sizes, DarkStar herself was handed just a pistol.

She'd been cautious, she knew that this could be a plan to capture her or just kill her. But this opportunity was too tempting to pass up, this way she could get more info on the inner workings of Arc Zero's organisation and get to know more about this inside group.

DarkStar thought she might stand out, so far she'd only seen men and boys in this criminal gang, but she had started to notice a few women/girls. It was hard to label them as adults or teenagers they all looked so young, so foolish and she knew she'd end up destroying some of them, if not all of them

The group made there way to their destination, in single file, sticking to the shadows. Karofsky had a red band on his upper left arm to distinguish himself from the rest. He signalled for groups to file off and hide down the alley ways between the buildings that lined the targeted road. The true DarkStar found herself with three others, two boys who were older than her, one tall and thin, the other only a little shorter than the first, but he was well built. The fourth member of their group was a young girl the same height as our hero, DarkStar noticed the girl trembling, it wasn't really her place but after getting to know Jack, even though he said none could be saved, she still wondered.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, getting the other girls attention. The two boys stood in front of the ignored them.

"Um yeah" the girl glanced at her before facing the back of the boys again "I'm sorry I'm new to this"

"Oh me too" it was all just a case of getting the other girl to trust her

"I'm Mia by the way?"

"Ra-Rebecca" she whisper greeted back "There's nothing to worry about it's just a simple hi-jack" she tried to reassure her

"I know it's just…" she looked at the other boys who had started a whispered conversation of there own as they waited in the dark "I don't want to be here, the protection and the money was just too good to pass up, and being in Karofsky's group offers the benefit of not being killed when he takes over"

"So what's your back story?" Rachel whisper asked curious

"Um, live in a halfway house with other kids my age and older"

"Oh… would you get out of this game if you could?"

"To be honest…" she glanced at the boys again then back to 'Rebecca' only to nod silently.

"Mia, just stick with me okay, this is going to be a simple task and then we can go home" she planned on saving this one too

"Okay, thank you"

"They're approaching" One of the boys announced and the whole alley went deathly silent.

DarkStar didn't have a clear view of what was happening but she did see the road ahead of them light up, before a large dark blue truck passed. The back end of the vehicle was lit up brightly by the headlights of the next one that followed closely behind.

DarkStar new something had to be wrong with this, nothing was ever simple, for instance, why were there no armed escort cars with the trucks... if they were carrying valuable equipment then there should be escort cars, right?

"We're moving" the same boy, who spoke before, spoke again, giving the order. The dark cloaked groups flooded from their hiding spots and surrounded the trucks, the ones near the cabins held the drivers at gun point. The majority of them manoeuvred round to the back of the trucks, one member per truck opened the back door allowing it to fly upward.

The held there guns ready, but not really expecting anything… they should have been better mentally prepared. Staring them in the face were several of Arc Zero's loyal men with similar guns, aimed at their heads.

Orders were shouted but no one knew what was going on. Karofsky's men started to fire; there guns made a lot of noise but bought no death.

Why was she surprised, she checked the gun and the rounds, they were shooting blanks! '_Shit!'_

In a chaotic mess, of words and fake and real gun fire the rebels were loaded into the trucks at gun point. What was happening was having the strangest of effects on our hero, she was supposed to see them as her enemy, a threat , but here she was stuffed in a truck with them and she cared, not only for her own life but for there's too, especially the slightly younger girl, Mia, still trembling, knelt next to her. Some had been injured during their taking; some were injured very badly by the real gun fire and bled out over their supposed comrades until they were dead.

Once the three trucks reached their destination, they were led out one by one, their hands were bound with cable ties before they were taken into the brightly lit empty warehouse. They were lined up and shoved onto their knees. Through out all this she remained next to the terrified girl who she was starting to care too much about.

"You think you can turn against me?" Arc Zero's voice boomed across the empty space as he entered the room. The raptor was much more about his appearance, his men wore suits, this guy, however went for a different style; hooded sweat shirts and jeans, to make them look like the teenage thugs they really were. "Karofsky"

"Yes boss" the other boy's voice was introduced from behind them, some of them dared to look over their shoulders, DarkStar being one of them, saw the boy still in his DarkStar uniform, with the hood down. His hands weren't bound and he was holding a pistol, waving it around

"Are these _the ones_?"

"Yes, boss, these are all the ones willing to betray you"

'_What the fuck?_ Rachel asked herself _Is Karofsky serious? This was a trap for his own people?'_

Arc Zero chuckled evilly "They think they can betray me, they get a simple promise from my right hand man and they think its okay to jump ship. Not in my neighbourhood. K, you can take care of this right?"

"Sure thing A Z, I got it"

"You know them all right, if you find DarkStar kill her then call me" with that he left, a few of his thugs flanking him on either side. Karofsky walked slowly round to stand in front of the group on their knees. His footsteps echoed round the empty space making them even more intimidating

"You see guys, Arc doesn't know who to trust and who can blame him right? This is a risky business. So I came up with a plan to find out which ones he couldn't trust and now we have you… and you know in this business what we do to people we can't trust"

Mia drew attention to herself with a loud uncontrollable sob, she tried to rake it in but it was too late. Karofsky marched straight over to her and yanked her hood back

"Mia, Mia, Mia" he shook his head as he spoke "You always were useless, Always following people around, what was your friends name again…" he tapped his pistol against the side of his head as he thought "Abby" he snapped his fingers

"Amy!" she spluttered

"That's right" he said lowly as he crouched down to her height "Amy, Arc was pretty sure she was selling secrets to The Raptor but… well we never proved it" he laughed in her face as her tears fell heavier, he stood up once more "She was an entertaining kill"

"You sick bastard" the slightly younger girl shrieked "You took away the girl I loved!"

This was getting too much for Rachel hidden in that DarkStar outfit, it was making her think of too many personal things and she was starting to care too much. Karofsky raised the gun and pointed it at his head "Well now you can be together again"

DarkStar tried so desperately to break free of the cable tie round her wrist but she couldn't…

With the cruel squeeze of the trigger, and an echoing bang, the whimpering was silenced. Mia's body fell to the floor, a smoking hole in her head and blood splattered on the few knelt around her. DarkStar had never felt this vulnerable, responsible, alone and scared in her very short existence.

"Right" the heartless bastard looked away from the corpse and looked up and down the line of the scared thugs and hidden hero, as he waved his gun around "Who's next?"

* * *

><p><strong>Let me know what you think...<strong>


	7. Blonde Saviour

**AN: To: ths3836: I wasn't sure if the question was rhetorical but if you (and anyone else) was wondering, the dream was kind of Quinn's infatuation with DarkStar and her feelings for Rachel (which she's not aware of because the pressed lemon in her is scared) not necessarily that she already figured it out. **

**AN2: Thank you: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, alerted, or even just read this, it means a lot to me, so thanks again!**

**Posted: 11/10/11**

Blonde Saviour

_"You sick bastard" the slightly younger girl shrieked "You took away the girl I loved!"_

These words were still ringing in DarkStar's ears as Karofsky sauntered back and forth in front of the betrayed troops. His heavy intimidating foot steps bought the next person closer to the end.

Mia's words hit something inside out hero, Family, Friends, Support. After Rachel had spent time with jack, and really got to know him, she felt safe, and then he was gone. She'd promised herself that she would save Mia too and she was too late and now she was alone again. She didn't know Mia at all. When they spoke in the alley she got the impression that Mia was alone, with no family. Halfway house, that meant possible orphan right? Or possible ex con... Mia didn't seem the type though. When Mia screamed her final words Rachel found out just how alone the raven haired girl truly was. Rachel didn't want that, DarkStar didn't want that… they both wanted someone though, someone who'd offered their help, despite hardly knowing her.

Her heavy breathing calmed at the thoughts of Quinn, maybe the blonde with the short hair and expressive hazel eyes could save her.

She was bought back to the devastating reality when another shot rang out, a boy further down the line was now lifeless, as she peered towards him she saw his blood, spilling from his head. The light reflected of the pool of dark red liquid.

He took a few steps along the line, closer to her and picked another random person. He flicked there hood back, before shooting them in the head as he'd done with the two before.

DarkStar was trying her best to free her hands but it was no use. Duct tape and she would have feed herself by now but not a cable tie, there was no easy way to stretch the material from this angle '_I'm going to have to do this the hard way'_ she thought to herself.

He took a few more steps along, and claimed another life. DarkStar kept her head down but discretely turned her head enough so she could watch Karofsky further down the line he took a fourth life. The least she hoped for was for his face to be expressionless as he extinguished their lives, but it was worse, he proudly wore an evil grin, one that DarkStar was sure would haunt Rachel in her nightmares, along with the smell of Mia's blood splattered on her clothes and skin.

He took a few more intimidating steps, picking his next target. DarkStar's breath hitched when she saw the tips of his boots stop in front of her. She felt his hand brush the edge of her hood as he went to grab it. _'Time for action'_

She thrust her bound hands forward and slightly upward straight into Karofsky's 'boys'. It was a brave move, he could have easily just shot her in the head. Instead he dropped to the floor clutching himself and dropping the gun, which went off again and managed to shoot one of his own men in the leg. She grabbed the gun that went off by itself and jumped from her knees straight to her feet.

DarkStar intended to shoot Karofsky but Arc's goons with their automatic rifles started firing in her direction. Their poor aim meant they missed her as she fired back at them, holding the gun in her right hand and squeezing the trigger with her left ring finger. Unfortunately some of the betrayed thugs were also killed in the rain of flying metal

"Stop, Stop!" Karofsky yelled from the floor, fearing for his own life.

They continued their fire not hearing their current commander. Her hands may have been bound but her aim was still true and she took out one thug per bullet, until the magazine was empty, she didn't let them know that though. She had no other weapons, she'd decided to not take any with her, other wise she may have stood out from the crowd. Our hero managed to pull the cowardly brute to his feet and used him as cover.

DarkStar dug the empty gun into his back "Hands up" she ordered, deepening and rasping her voice so it wasn't recognisable.

He was smart enough to do as he was told "Don't shoot, you idiots!" he yelled across the warehouse floor, they finally ceased firing and lowered their guns

"Move" she ordered angling the gun to point against his back in the direction she wanted him to go.

As she got closer to an exit they raised their guns again "Don't!" Karofsky yelled again. DarkStar tried her best to calm her breathing; she didn't want to show any weakness.

'_A few more steps, just a few more'_ She was watching the armed thugs, their eyes and guns following her, a few shuffling their feet too. Now was the hard part, the escape. She threw Karofsky forward as a distraction and darted out of the open door. The gun fire followed her. The cloaked hero heard Karofsky shout orders.

"You lot, take care of these, the rest of you with me"

…

The blonde with the short hair was restless, she tossed and turned before giving up. She sat up in her bed and switched the lamp on, light making her shut her eyes, she opened them a little until she got used to it.

_"Nope not me" he smirked again "it's the same person who kissed you in the blindfolded spin the bottle last night" he hinted "… and judging from that kiss and the way they were… admiring you before they picked you up, bridal style and took you to your room, I'd say someone has a little crush on you" he sing-songed_

Pucks word echoed in her head, and now she knew it was Rachel who kisses her. '_Is Rachel even capable of carrying me, I doubt it, Puck had to be lying about her having a crush on me, he probably carried me up stairs… then again why would he bother?… why would Rachel, if she did carry me?…'_ Quinn didn't know why these thoughts made her feel sad. She also, wasn't sure why, when she thought back to her dream from Saturday night, after the initial shock she was actually left feeling disappointed.

And worse of all she hadn't seen the short brunette since finding out it was _her_ who she had shared the best kiss of her life with, it was the same girl who she'd had the weirdest dream about.

She decided to grab her sketch book and a pencil. She turned to her most recent drawing; she drew herself in the scene this time. It was her hand on DarkStar's injured arm as she tried to escape from the window: another image from that night. Ever since that night she always left her window open a tiny amount, hoping for another visit.

…

DarkStar ran, more desperate than she'd ever ran before. She didn't know where exactly she was, she knew she was on the industrial estate but she'd never been to this sector of it before, for all she knew she was running further into the centre, where only more danger could wait.

'_Take a left, damn I should have gone right… shit! They're gaining… take a right now…'_ she ran along the dark and damp alley way, really she needed to get higher, climb a building, to get her bearings, but with her hands still bound it would make the climb harder and slower and with Arc's men on her heels they would spot her and she'd be a sitting duck

'_Just keep running… keep going straight, where are all the roads!'_ She felt like she'd been running in between buildings and warehouses for hours._ 'Finally!'_ She saw a way out of the industrial maze. As she ran towards the exit she passed an alternative alley way, she was so relieved that she might not be lost anymore that she didn't think any of Karofsky's men could already be ahead of her.

Multiple shots were fired, and the seemingly impossible target known as DarkStar was hit, she stumbled as the red hot round ripped through the flesh of her thigh. She cried out in pain, but her adrenaline and the thought _'If you stop you WILL die'_ kept her from collapsing completely. She kept going, but her pace was severely slowed.

She made it to the end of the alley with gunfire rippling around her, she kept going is fast as she could limp with gritted teeth to help get through the pain. She clasped her bound hands over the her leg, but it was no use, there were two wounds, the bullet had gone clean through.

She thought this could be the end, until she heard the fast approach of sirens then she was sure it was.

"Cops are coming, lets head back, they'll get her!" she heard one thug shot to some others. At least our injured hero, was rid of then and she now knew where she was.

…

After evading police capture, she eventually escaped the depressing industrialised area and was now hoping fences in a more residential district. Just like last time she was close to home, but she was tired, more tired than usual, the wound, the fear, the loss of someone she'd promised herself she'd save, had taken all her energy.

Not much further, just a few more blocks she kept chanting in her head. Sirens were flaring from every direction. They were looking- scratch that, they were hunting for DarkStar and Rachel didn't think she could take much more.

Then our nearly beaten hero realised exactly where she was, it was the warm light in the window, across the road that caught her attention, Quinn Fabray's bedroom light was on.

_"You don't have to hide, there're people out there who support you, myself being one of them"_

She distinctly remembered those words Quinn had said to her during their last encounter, when she was DarkStar.

Right now DarkStar was desperate, she needed sanctuary and with the blood loss and pain she wasn't sure how much further she'd get before she fainted. She checked the coast was clear before darting across the road and hiding in the bush at the base of the tree she planned on climbing. After another check she started and incredibly difficult climb.

She hooked her hands on the uneven surface of the sturdiest branch she could reach and pulled herself up. She kept snaking up until she reached the window ledge, she leant over and hooked her fingers into the small opening and pulled the window up. She then leapt forward, her torso landing on the window sill and tried to pull herself in.

She felt two hands round her upper arms pulling her in. DarkStar landed on the floor, on her front with a thud, the blonde landed in front of her on her back side. However she was soon on her feet again closing the window, blind and curtains, meaning the window was now blacked out, you couldn't see if a light was on from the outside, and back by the cloaked girls side as she tried to sit up

"Oh my god your legs bleeding" Quinn gasped looking down at the mess

"Uh-huh" Rachel groaned "Can you please help me" she held out her hands "I'm sorry to do this to you" With the stress, the tiredness and the pain, Rachel barely had to put in any more effort to disguise her voice.

"Of course!" Quinn was up in a flash, finding a sharp enough pair of scissors to free her from the plastic restraints round her wrist.

"Thank you" she was breathing heavily

Quinn disappeared out of her bedroom without another word, leaving DarkStar slightly worried.

She was soon back with a clean towel, a cloth, bandages and some antiseptic, she left for a second time, and came back with a basin of warm water

"It's okay I can go now" She went to stand up but Quinn stopped her

"You're not going anywhere, you're bleeding and I'm going to help you" Quinn, with out thinking, reached for the top of DarkStar's black pants to remove them.

"No it's okay I'll take care of it" she said flinching as Quinn's hands brushed against the material.

Quinn's eyes widened and made contact with Rachel's, had her heart not been beating quite so fast and adrenaline pumping through her body at her excitement of the situation, she might have just recognised the cloaked girl, with her face hidden partially in the shadow of her hood "I'm so sorry, I was just trying to help and I didn't think" '_oh god why am I acting like this, no don't blush, don't blush, just because you tried to de-pant her, oh great there you go, you're blushing… well that just made it more obvious by looking down, yeah that helps… oh god… maybe I do have a thing for her...'_

"No, thank you I really mean it, could you imagine if they found me here, I should just go" she tried to shuffle away again as Quinn looked up

"Who's going to find you… please stay. I really want to help, just stay, let me help your leg, its cut"

"It's not cut" DarkStar stopped trying to move away and stayed sat on the floor "I got shot… again, it went straight through"

Quinn covered her mouth "You have to let me clean it… I Mean! You have to try and clean it"

'_Oh god why is she so adorable right now, really not the best situation'_ Rachel thought to herself "Okay, I won't leave" she shuffled so she was sitting on her cloak so she wouldn't get blood on the carpet, then reached for the belt on her trousers "um I'm going to sort this now"

"Oh do you want me to…" she gestured her head to the door, she didn't want to watch the girl in a perverted way, she genuinely wanted to help if she could.

"N-No I was just warning you this is going to be messy" Quinn just nodded in understanding but stayed by the disguised girl's side. Rachel slid her trousers down to her knees, revealing black boy shorts, so she could clean the wounds, she laid the towel Quinn had given her folded under her leg to support it and catch the blood. She hissed in pain, as she wiped at the mess with the damp cloth. She was being very careful trying to cause the least amount of pain possible

"That's not going to clean it properly" Quinn muttered

"Well it hurts" DarkStar said through clenched teeth

"I'm not surprised… let me do it" she reached to take the cloth out of DarkStar's hand, this time the hero gave up in defeat. Quinn bathed the other girl's leg, the best she could, she recommended that she went to the hospital to clean it properly as the bullet went all the way through, but DarkStar refused. Quinn then wrapped the leg and allowed DarkStar to carefully pull her trousers back up. She now, finally felt sleepy enough to fall asleep. She put the blooded towels and cloth in a bag to dispose of later, she tipped the now red water away and left the antiseptic on her dresser, next to the cut cable tie.

"Thank you Quinn, this means so much to me that you helped"

"I told you, I'm here for you… DarkStar? What happened tonight?"

"Um well… people got betrayed, the bad guys own men, and some innocent people died… and I almost died" she finished quietly "…I have to go now"

"You could stay… I'll wake you before my mom usually get's up… you need to rest"

"I couldn't take up any more of your hospitality"

"I don't mind"

"Thank you, I'd really appreciate it" she gave in too easily

Quinn stood "Here I'll help you to the bed" her own eyes bugged out when she realised how that must have sounded "I mean I ah-"

"The floor" Rachel smirked a little at the muddled up blonde in front of her "Will be fine" she finished.

"Oh, if your sure" '_what must you sound like right now Fabray' _Inside she was shaking her head at herself in embarrassment

"Very sure, you've already done too much" DarkStar said, crawling to the side of the bed so she was hidden from view of the door… just in case.

"Okay" Quinn said, getting back into bed "Goodnight DarkStar"

"Good night Quinn, and thank you again"

Quinn fell asleep quite quickly. It took a little longer for Rachel; she eventually drifted off with thoughts of Mia, and the girl she had loved and lost. It made Rachel think of the slumbering girl right near her… she didn't even have her and the idea of losing her scared her. Rachel new Mia loved her Amy but she didn't even know if they ever really had each other, she liked to think they had, and enjoyed the very little they had… these thoughts led Rachel to a conclusion… It was best to keep Quinn away from this mess… this would be the last time DarkStar would have contact with Quinn

Oh, how wrong she would be…

…

"Quinnie, time to get up!" Quinn was startled awake by her mother patting her arm. She froze remembering DarkStar fell asleep in her room "Your alarm went off but you didn't wake up, I had to come in here and switch it off" Judy explained, she noticed the worried look on her daughters face "Are you okay sweetie?"

"Uh yeah" Quinn shook herself awake "just a little sleepy" she said with a forced yawn

"Okay, well I'm going to make breakfast, see you in a minute"

"Yeah" Quinn answered simply, watching her mother leave the room. As soon as the door clipped shut she scrambled across the bed and looked down at the floor space where DarkStar had laid. Unsurprisingly, she was gone. The blonde checked the window, it was shut but unlocked, meaning it had been closed from the outside. The bag of blooded items were gone, all that was left was the broken cable tie she'd cut from her hero's wrists and a small white rectangular card, with a dark blue star on it. She smiled to herself and picked it up, Quinn then noticed there was small italic hand-writing on the back.

_Quinn, thank you for everything, I'll pay you back some how_

_Stay vigilant_

_DarkStar_

Quinn couldn't wait to tell the guys at school about this one.

**Let me know what you think...**


	8. Misunderstandings

**AN: To Trust in Faith: yeah your idea is in this chapter, I dunno about how I wrote it what do you think? :/ Thanks again anyways!**

**AN2: Thanks, as always, for all the reviews, favouriting, alerting and just reading; it's very encouraging**

**Also sorry for the wait :/**

**Posted: 14/10/11**

Misunderstandings

Rachel woke at 6.00 am exactly. It took her a moment, taking in her surroundings, to remember where she was, as her senses came back to her so did the searing pain in her leg. She sat up abruptly clutching her leg and clenching her teeth and it was at that moment everything flooded back to her including the girl sleeping soundly right next to her, on the bed.

She smiled at Quinn who was hugging one pillow while her head was nestled in the other. She was laying on the side right next to where DarkStar had been resting, so close to her all night long. Rachel did wonder for a moment if Quinn maybe saw who she was... Quinn wouldn't tell though right? The only reason she'd taken the offer to stay the night was because she was desperate. She was exhausted, in pain and there were a lot of police on the streets looking for her, even though she only had three more blocks to travel.

Although Rachel felt she could be creepy and watch Quinn sleep for ever, it was time to leave. She took the bag of blooded cloths, she took one of her 'calling cards' out of her pocket and took one of the pens of the desk, she made a quick note on the back, nearly putting her real name instead of DarkStar, and then made her exit out the window and a short yet painful trek back to sanctuary.

…

Once Quinn was dressed she added the cable tie to her scrap book but held onto the small rectangular card. She wanted to tell her friends of her encounter and that card was proof that it had happened. The events of the previous night felt so surreal, at first Quinn was wondering if she had dreamed it until she saw the remaining evidence. But she felt a little bit proud of herself, she'd helped someone she admired, on a lifesaving scale. Of course she felt foolish for the way she'd stumbled over herself and her own words. She didn't want her hero to think she was_ that_ obsessed with her.

The blonde skipped happily down the stairs, nothing could ruin this day nothing…

"Quinnie, come see this" her mother called from the kitchen

The daughter pushed the door to the kitchen open; the voice coming from the television set in the corner of the room caught her attention

"… _47 were found dead in the warehouse on the west side of the industrial estate of lima Ohio. The bodies were found stripped to their underwear and their hands bound. 4 of the dead were found with single bullet wounds to the head, the other 43 had several gunshot wounds to their entire bodies…"_

Quinn swallowed loudly and nervously as she walked closer to her mother. Once she was at the older woman's side

"… _This insignia was found on the wall at the crime scene"_ behind the reporter an image from the warehouse was projected for everyone to see _"We now understand that DarkStar is responsible for the 47 cases of murder as well as several other charges. We advise that you avoid the streets at night and lock up your houses securely until this criminal is caught…"_

"This is terrible" Judy gasped with worry

"I don't understand, it couldn't have been her" Quinn said louder than planned

"Quinn, what are you talking about?" The mother turned to her daughter curiously, but the worry was still evident I her eyes

"Oh nothing" she shook her comment away

"Honey, I'm not comfortable with your infatuation with this girl any more, I want it to stop okay"

"Okay… but you don't have to worry mom, these things happen on the other side of town… and this one wasn't her"

"I understand that you want to believe that, but she's a bad person Quinn, I don't want you thinking she's not" the older blonde looked at her daughter seriously, taking a hand to show her daughter she cared about her.

"…Okay mom" Quinn said sadly, knowing it was better not to argue with the woman.

…

The blonde with the short hair was fairly distracted by the DarkStar incident circulating the news and the halls of McKinley high school. But despite all that, her mind was also on other things, especially while she spent her free period in the choir room. The choir room always automatically made her think of a certain short brunette and right now she was thinking of the kiss they'd shared and the talk she'd had with PuckUman.

"Hey Q, What's with you?" Santana broke Quinn from her Rachel trance

"Um nothing"

"It's obviously not nothing, you've been distracted all morning"

"it's just" she started as she turned to her two closest friends "I can trust you two right"

"Of course Quinn"

"Yeah sure, what's wrong?" Santana was blunter than her girlfriend.

"Well it's about the kiss with Rachel at my party last Saturday" Quinn fiddled with her hands in her lap as she looked down at them

"What; you're freaked out?"

"That's the problem, I should be totally freaked, but I'm not... that kiss..." she trailed off hazily.

"Really Q? It was just a kiss, big deal"

"Leave her alone S. You're always telling me how much you love my sweet lady kisses"

Quinn looked up in shock; she was even sure she saw the Latina blush.

"So, _anyway_" the Latina calmed herself and turned back to her friend "The point is you liked the kiss" Quinn nodded in confirmation "So… do you want more with her?"

Quinn had to think before she gave up "I-I don't know… I just really want to talk to her, I haven't seen her since Monday when I found out it was her… Puck told me that he thinks she has a crush on me" she said quietly

"Duh, of course she does, she carried you to your room, and she was staring at you the whole night"

"You saw!" Quinn exclaimed "And you didn't think, as my best friend, that you should tell me?" The Latina just shrugged in reply

"Rach carried you to your room?" Brittany asked with surprise "But she's so tiny" The not so stupid blonde pointed out

"I know right" Quinn was confused too

"What ever, the dwarf has a huge crush on you Q and you like her kisses, so what do we do next?"

"I think I need to talk to her, I haven't seen her today so I assume she's still skipping. Maybe I'll go to her house" she thought out loud.

"Do you want us there for your support?" The raven haired girl offered

"Thanks, but no thanks" she sighed a steadying breath to herself "it's going to be awkward enough by myself"

…

Despite the pain and lack of sleep, Rachel was in school that Wednesday, but she'd been avoiding Quinn for two reasons. The first reason, the more obvious reason, was she didn't want to confront her about what happened at the party. The look Quinn and Puck had shared, made Rachel guessed that Quinn knew more than just about the kiss but the care she'd shown the sleeping blonde too. The second reason was she didn't want to give Quinn the chance to feel or see any familiarities between her and her alter-ego after how close they'd been.

Unfortunately she didn't avoid her saviour at lunch

"Rachel, you're back" Quinn said too enthusiastically as she and her two best friends approached the usual table and took their usual seats

"Yeah, was feeling a little sick yesterday, decided to stay at home to rest and get better before it could get worse" she muttered her excuse

"So…" Kurt started "I'm guessing you all saw the news this morning, about those 47 murders. They say they're certain its murder as the deaths seem premeditated"

"Yeah we all saw… I just… I dunno, the first deaths we heard about seemed like they had reason, this one doesn't seem right" it was Sam who voiced his opinion first

"I know, its like the others seemed to be in self defence and she never left a sign on the wall that's too Zorro" Puck added

"Yeah she's more like the joker with her calling card, but super hot" Finn interjected. As the three boys got excited in their discussion, Puck moved in his seat, his leg tapping Rachel's injured one, she took a sharp inhale for the pain and hoped no one heard or saw her.

"Will you three idiots stop" Kurt interrupted their enthusiastic discussion "This isn't a comic book, or a movie, this is real people, real lives. You shouldn't be defending that loon, she's a cold blooded killer, a murderer" he spoke with such hate and bitterness and it was stirring the DarkStar in Rachel to unleash herself and put the boy in his place, but luckily she didn't have to.

"Shut up!" Quinn stood up abruptly and glared intensely down at the boy "You don't know what you're talking about so just shut up" she dropped herself back down to her seat and picked up her fork again to resume eating, occasionally glaring at him across the table.

He may have been scared but he didn't falter in trying to make his point, so he pushed her "Well enlighten us as to what you think then?"

She dropped the fork and glared at him fiercely. Rachel had to duck her head to hid her smile at the scene playing out in front of her "She told me what happened" she spat bitterly "She was in my room again last night, she took up my offer of help" by now she had everyone at the tables attention, and maybe a few others from neighbouring tables who overheard "And when I asked, she said the bad guys own men got betrayed and innocent people were killed"

"So she owned up, she knew she killed innocent-"

"No Kurt, she told me she was there and nearly killed with them. She told me this after I helped her clean up her leg, she'd been shot. A through and through on her thigh" Rachel missed the curious glance Quinn gave her "I helped her clean then I bandaged it. She then slept on the floor in my room… I think she must have been desperate, didn't you hear the sirens last night?"

Many 'no's were heard from round the table

"Of course not you were probably all asleep" she muttered to herself

"So you helped her again, you could get in so much trouble for harbouring a fugitive"

"I don't care about that, I care about her!" Everyone round the table eye's widened, including Quinn who just realised what she said and how it sounded. Even Rachel was now focused on the girl across from her.

"_This is bad, so very, very bad… what if Quinn like DarkStar and worst of all what if she finds out her hero is me, she'll kill me, she'll break my heart… why did I go to her for help, I could have done this all on my own… it wasn't just that thought was it?"_ She asked herself "_No, it wasn't… I didn't want to be alone after what happened to Mia, I just couldn't sleep in that house alone with my nightmares" _As Rachel internally rambled Quinn hastily left the cafeteria in a similar fashion as the brunette had done two days ago.

"Way to go Hummel" Santana snapped before grabbing her bag and Brittany and following her friend out the cafeteria

All the DarkStar fans looked down the table at the boy who always put a dampener on the conversation "What?" he looked at them all with a shrug

…

"Q, wait up" She grabbed Quinn's wrist and stopped her in the corridor "what is with you, this DarkStar thing is getting to us all but, what's wrong with you?"

The blonde turned to face the Latina, with a sad broken expression "I don't know San, that mysterious girl has the weirdest effect on me, I just, I just hate seeing her hurt. I worry about her and even if she's bleeding all over my room I'm so happy when I see her, I'm relieve because I know in that short amount of time in those two occasions I've seen her and spoken to her, I know that she's safe and I can protect and help her" tears threatened to spill

"This isn't just an obsession is it Q?"

"I don't know S, I really don't know… and then this thing with Rachel-"

"Oh my god Q-"

"You should talk to Rachel first" Brittany interrupted "At least you can actually talk to her, how are you going to contact DarkStar if you don't know where she lives"

"Good point B" Santana put an arm around her girlfriend and rewarded her with a kiss on the cheek

"Thanks guys… I'm going to go to the library I need some quiet time" Quinn waved them off as she walked in the opposite direction down the hall way.

"And I need some Britt-Britt time" The Latina husked into her girlfriends ear, making the tall blonde giggle before pulling her to the nearest empty room

…

Rachel couldn't believe how unbelievably stupid she was, she forgot they had compulsory gym on a Wednesday last lesson. She got to the changing room as quickly as possible so she could change into her gym kit before any one else could get there and see her injuries. She decided she'd wear her outside, winter kit, which consisted of sweat pants and a sweatshirt, which she'd wear a long sleeved top underneath. She didn't care if the gym teacher didn't say she could wear that, she had to for her own protection. As soon as she finished getting changed, the other girls flooded in to get ready for the lesson too.

…

"Lopez, Fabray, Berry and Pierce, can put the equipment away today" the teacher shouted "The rest of you back to the changing rooms"

The four sighed as the room grew quiet when the other girls filtered out of the sports hall. They cleared away quietly, Santana and Brittany were having a silent conversation with glances to Quinn and back who was watching Rachel's movement carefully, she looked as though she wanted to say something, but she hesitated too long and the petite girl left to the changing room.

The last bell had already gone about 10 minutes ago so the school was near enough empty of students. "Come on Q" Santana called over to the lost blonde as she and Brittany were also heading back.

Once they were near the changing room Santana sent Brittany ahead and held her best friend back

"S, what's wrong?"

"Look this is your opportunity, Berry's in there so me and Britt will leave real quick and you two can have that chat, k?"

"Okay San, if you think now's a good time, she won't even look at me"

"She looks at you more than you think Q, now go talk" she instructed leading the short haired blonde into the changing room. She was just bored with this already, this had been drawn out long enough already.

When they actually got into the changing room neither of them expected what they saw…

Brittany and Rachel connected at the lips, their lips moving so slowly and sensually against one another. Brittany had a tight hold on the back or Rachel's neck while Rachel's hands were against the taller girl's shoulders.

"What the Fuck is going on?" Santana yelled storming forward and prying them apart, she then shoved Rachel away. With the shorter girls secret leg injury she stumbled but managed to land backside first on a bench rather than the floor "What the hell do you think you're doing RuPaul!"

"I-I wasn't doing anything-" she stutted

"That's funny looked like you were all over my girl" Santana had a gentle yet possessive grip round Brittany's wrist as she angrily towered over Rachel

"San calm down" Brittany moved closer to Santana's back to calm her as she spoke softly in her ear "I kissed her not the other way round"

"It's okay Britt, I'm not mad at you" a soft side of Santana made an appearance for a few seconds before the scary bitch came back "I want to know what she thought she was doing"

Quinn felt hopeless and… hurt when she saw Rachel kissing someone else, when it was exactly that subject that Quinn felt needed to be resolved

"No San" Brittany turned her girlfriend to look at her seriously "I kissed Rachel, I wanted to know what it was like"

"Why?" Santana shook her head in confusion, Quinn looked at the quiet, suddenly vulnerable looking Rachel sat on the bench, while that waited for Brittany's explanation

"Well, Quinn said her kiss at the party was like the best she'd ever had, so I wanted to see for myself. Quinn was right, Rachel's really good, but not as good as you san" Santana melted a little at Brittany's words, which was very uncharacteristic of the Latina, but that's just what her girl did to her.

At the girl's words, Rachel's eyes shot to Quinn, who shot an ignored glare at Brittany "How did you know I said that I only told Puck"

"_Oh god, she's not denying it!"_ and just for a moment Rachel felt like she could feel good, she even smiled for only the second time that day.

"I was awake when you were talking, and the kitchen door was open" she shrugged innocently

"I gotta go" Rachel mumbled before wincing as she stood. She grabbed her bag and shouldered it before leaving as smoothly as she could. Quinn just watched hopelessly and silently as Rachel swept past her.

She eventually left too when her friends were… busy.

…

Quinn huffed as she wandered round her home; it was peacefully silent, leaving her to her thoughts. They consisted mostly of the events of that day, all the talking she'd done with her best friend and all the talking she wanted to do with Rachel. She decided some fresh air would be best

She walked out onto the front porch and took a seat on the bench. As she did the bench moved a little, scrapping across the wooden flooring of the porch and tapping a flower pot that sat beside it. The terracotta pot, in turn, collided with another object giving a higher 'chink' noise. Quinn looked down to investigate, as she pulled the heavy pot out she found a bottle. The glass of the bottle it self was frosted, the liquid inside was clear and colourless. It wasn't until she picked it up she remembered:

_"Um I bought you this… like a hostess' gift" she passed the now quiet blonde the bottle_

_"Oh thank you, but you should keep it, in fact hide it; Santana wanted to play a game with shots but we haven't got any shot worthy alcohol… luckily" she added with a light laugh, lightening the mood "I don't feel like sharing my secrets or humiliating myself with a bunch of drunk teenagers"_

_Rachel chuckled "Well you keep it anyway… and hide it"_

_"Thank you" Quinn accepted the bottle "And thanks for showing up..."_

The night of the party, when Rachel showed up late. Quinn remembered how worried she was for the brunette then, she imagined she was being abused. Then the blonde thought back to today, during lunch, when Rachel flinched when Puck bumped into her, and that same wave of worry hit her again.

_"Rachel, a-are you being… abused?"_Her own words rang in her head

Quinn went back to Brittany's advice, before the changing room incident. _I think it's time Rachel and I talked, and now I have a bargaining tool_ she looked at the vodka in her hand.

**Any thoughts?**

**I'm not happy with this chapter; it's a bit choppy :(**

**It's just filler I guess**

**Any who, next one might be better (story wise; it is in my opinion)**

**Reviews are encouraging :/**


	9. Close encounter

**AN: wow you guys who reviewed the last chapter are too nice, I was seriously disappointed with myself for my last chapter, so I updated really quick as a thank you, but I hope this isn't disappointing…**

**AN2: chapter continues right after the last one, another chapter I'm not completely sure on but let me know : honest opinions (positive or negative) always welcome :/**

**Posted: 15/10/11**

Close encounter

Wednesday Afternoon

Quinn pulled up outside what she knew as the berry residence. She wondered if Rachel's dads would be home. Quinn had never actually met them, or even seen them in person, so she doubted they'd be home this time. She got out her car and walked up the path to the house. Her nerves made the path feel longer than it actually was.

"_Why am I so nervous?" _She asked herself "_because I'm worried about her? Or because I think she might have feelings for me? Or something else… if she has feelings for me how will that make me feel? … How DO I feel about her?"_

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. She had to wait longer than she had the last time she'd knocked on Rachel's door. Finally a tired looking Rachel Berry answered the door. As soon as she saw Quinn her facial expression brightened before it faltered

"H-Hey, Rachel, I was wondering if we could talk… about what Brittany said in the locker room today and something Puck said to me"

"Of course come in Quinn" she opened the door wider and stepped out the way.

"I bought this round" she waved the bottle "I forgot that it was hidden on my porch, I thought maybe we could have a drink"

"Sure I'll get some glasses, do you want to mix it with anything, I've got some coke" the brunette offered

"Um… yes please" she settle on one of the sofas and put the bottle on the coffee table. Drinking neat wouldn't be a good idea, but in her teenage experience and taking a lesson from her parents, drinking excessively never solved anything.

Rachel was soon back in the living room, hiding her limp and injuries behind baggy clothes. She put two glasses and the bottle next to the vodka and started mixing the drinks "So what did Puck say that's so important?"

"Well…" Quinn took the drink Rachel offered her and took a sip "He told me it was you who carried me to my room at my party… did you know I hate sleeping on the floor, it makes me feel really rough, unwell even when I wake up"

"No…" Rachel said quietly, hiding her face with embarrassment that she'd been caught. She finished pouring her own drink before she sat down "I just took you to your room because you looked vulnerable there in the middle of the room…" she trailed off at her explanation

"Puck also said something else… he said he thinks you have a crush on me" Quinn rushed the words out before biting her lip and screwing her eyes shut tightly, as she cringed at herself

"I have feelings for you Quinn" the brunette was calm and honest as she confirmed the suspicions

"Really?"

Rachel just nodded but she wanted to know what Quinn was feeling, not just dwell on her own feelings "What about what Brittany said, about the kiss being the best, or something" Rachel was so unsure of herself for once. She wanted to smirk, wanted to be cocky but she couldn't.

"It was" Quinn said, taking another mouthful of her drink "I felt many things in that kiss, and I hadn't even had that much to drink, I know what I felt… I felt cared for, respected…" she looked to her feet as she was perched on the edge of her seat showing her slight discomfort.

The brunette wasn't sure what Quinn was saying; did she feel what Rachel had projected from her own feelings or did Quinn reciprocate them. "Quinn" The blonde looked to her again "The night of your party the other week, when you stepped out of the house, you looked stressed"

"I was… I was worried about… things"

"What things?" The brunette pushed

"You" the blonde said quickly and a little more high pitched that she probably planned

"Me? Why?"

"I-I told you that night, I'm worried about you, you'd tell me if something was wrong right?"

"I would tell you if I could Quinn"

"What does that mean?" the blonde now sounded irritated "Obviously something's wrong and you won't tell me" she crossed her arms

"What's it to you, we hardly know each other really, the first time you actually spoke to me without others around or it being for a glee assignment was when you came here to invite me to that party" she tried not to use an argumentative tone, she didn't want a fight

"I care about you" talk about déjà vu "I care about you more that I should"

"You what?" Rachel asked in disbelief and surprise

"I think I like you Rachel, I mean I'm sure I like you as more than a... more than a f-friend" she wasn't sure what to do now "I think I should go-" she immediately got up to leave.

"I like you too" the brunettes words stopped her "but... it just wouldn't work Quinn" and just like that the bubble of hope Quinn felt rise within her, that let her know she hadn't just humiliated herself, was destroyed, exploded.

Quinn's shoulders dropped "Why?" she whispered and held back any evidence of tears

"Because... things are too difficult" she excused lamely. On the other hand how did she know she'd be enough for Quinn, what if she changed her mind, when would the gay panic be triggered? There were too many what if and questions.

"Just like my emotions" Quinn muttered. They were getting difficult for even her to keep track of them. "I really like you… I really wish we could try but I understand if you don't want anything… with me… though"

"It's not that" Rachel raised her voice sharply to reassure Quinn this wasn't about her "It's really not that, I just... look Quinn, you're beautiful and strong and you could have anyone... and I-I have... commitments and, it kills me, it really does but... I can't be with you" Quinn just nodded and bowed her head. Her stomach was churning, she felt foolish for even trying "… I can't explain, I wish I could, but I can't"

"Commitments... you married or something?" she asked with a slight chuckle, to distract from her own feelings

"No" _"unless you count my work"_ "Just... I'm sorry Quinn"

"No, no you have nothing to be sorry for" she'd humiliated herself

"Are you going to be okay?" she then realised that sounded presumptuous "Not that you wouldn't be"

"I'm fine" she smiled sadly "Maybe I should go now" she half suggested, half got up to leave

"No wait" Rachel winced as she stood up too "I know this might be awkward now but I hope we can be friends, maybe better friends than we've been before"

"Um... okay" Quinn shrugged. She didn't understand the situation, she honestly didn't get why Rachel would say no. She wasn't high maintenance, Rachel was the high maintenance one, even though she'd toned down lately, so what was the problem?

"How about you stay, we could hang out… please, we'll order a pizza and watch really crappy TV." Rachel offered hopeful again but in a more playful sense

"Okay Rachel… but can I sit next to you… I know were not going to do anything about... things but…" she took a breath "could we at least…"

"Yeah we could" Rachel sat down again and encouraged Quinn to sit next to her "And maybe... I mean some friends hold hands right"

"Yeah" Quinn reached out and took Rachel's hand, entwining their fingers "Some friends..."

"Some friends relax" Rachel whispered as she let herself do exactly what she said. A few minutes later she felt Quinn do the same. A little while after that Quinn found herself slouching and sinking into her seat even more and her head finding itself resting on Rachel's shoulder

The blonde looked down at their joined hands and wondered if it would be real, could this ever be real. She just told herself in the mean time she had someone else to keep her mind distracted. Lima's own caped crusader would keep her distracted for now

…

Monday Lunch time

"Alright Bitches" Santana got the attention of all the gleeks at the lunch table "Party. My place. This Friday. Be there"

The rest of the group immediately started organising who would travel with who. The lunch time chat had been a bit thin already today as there was nothing in the news about DarkStar lately.

Puck turned to Rachel, who hadn't been paying attention to everyone else's discussions "What about you Rach, I'm taking Finn, Sam and Quinn, I can pick you up too" he offered.

Sam and Finn had started talking again a couple of days after the blindfold kiss reveal. They weren't as good friends as they had been before as they both felt pretty awkward around one another but they were talking again and that's all that mattered.

"I don't think I can make it Noah, but thank you very much for your kind offer. If my plans change I can make my own way there" Rachel missed it but Santana, Brittany and Puck didn't fail to notice the look of disappointment on Quinn's face.

…

Friday night... technically very early Saturday morning.

It was around 2.30am, the party was starting to die down. Finn had drunk too much and avoided kissing Sam again, although it was the blonde boy who caught him when he passed out. The big boy just didn't know his limit.

Quinn was bored, mostly because she wanted someone else's company. Rachel was normally good company at these things anyway, once she'd had a couple of drinks she could be the life of the party.

Most of the party goers where asleep, or on the brink of sleep, when Quinn decided she just wanted to go home. She didn't want to get only a couple of hours sleep on a floor to wake up with a mild hang over and feeling stiff and still tired, she just wanted her own bed and a good nights sleep.

She grabbed her jacket and slipped out into the night

…

As DarkStar looked over the body she'd just killed she noticed he wore an ear piece, she pulled it out his ear and held it up to her own. She was actually amazed that there were actual voices on the other end. The piece was tapped into a network by the sounds of it.

"… _We've finished the job A Z. On our way back now"_ she heard a male voice announce

"_Good job guys"_ She heard Azimio praise his men

"_We're just past Lima heights adjacent"_ Another voice commentated

"_Hey, D, check her out"_

"_What have you spotted guys"_ Azimio sounded too playful as he spoke for Rachel's liking

"_Just a hot little blonde"_ the first voice, known as 'D', said

"_She's wearing a nice little dress, A Z I hope you don't mind but me and D wanna go have a little fun"_

"_Don't mind me, you guys did some good work tonight, just don't leave any evidence… use a silencer when you're done" _The way he spoke was sickening, he spoke as though he was placing a food order ad it was no big deal. She knew the value of life, even if she'd taken so many.

"_K, A Z, we're signing out"_

"_I wonder what she's got hiding under that sun dress-"_ 'D' said lowly. Then lines all went dead

"The sick bastards!" Rachel started clearing up, re-holstering her guns and pocketing the headset for use later and planning the girls rescue as she went. Then all the details in what they'd said dawned on her "Quinn!"

She ran as fast as she could to her bike, as soon as she was near enough she jumped onto it, started it and tore from the alley way with a loud, smoking wheels spin and energetic roar of the engine.

…

Quinn pulled and clutched her jacket closer to her body, she saw two men walking from another direction as she entered the shortcut to home. "_Please don't follow me, please don't follow me"_ She repeated over and over in her head, she quickened the pace when the men turned the corner and started following her, she could hear them say things that made he uncomfortable, they started calling after her and laughing.

"Hey, where dya think you're going?" she tried to walk faster but they caught up, one grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the wall "What's the hurry?" He was right in her face, his hot breath stroking her face.

He bought his hand up to her hip, and she immediately swatted it away with her free hand "Let go of me" she demanded

"I don't think we'll be doing that will we D?" he asked over his shoulder, she took the opportunity and kneed him square between his legs, he groaned in pain as he clutched himself and fell the floor. Quinn ran for it, but the other young man grabbed her round the waste and pulled her back

"That was a really bad idea" he shoved her against the wall and pulled out a pistol. He used his body, flush against hers to keep her pinned to the wall while he also grabbed a silence out of his pocket and attached it "I wouldn't try that again if I were you" he said lowly, before taking a step back. The other man finally found his feet again.

Quinn just tensed and put her back flat to the wall. He still stood close while his friend just looked angry. The pistol wielding man reached for the zip on his jeans making her breath shakily and closed her eyes tightly.

An approaching rumble and a light filling the alley way made her open them again. The three were all looking in the same direction, as a single light source approached quickly. The men realised what it was and both started firing their guns at the motorcyclist.

Darkstar skidded to a stop knocking one of the men down as the back wheel spun round. The hero pulled a gun out of its holster and bitterly shot both the men in the head, the standing one first then the helpless one on the floor. She got off the bike and checked the men were dead, before turning to frightened girl

"Are you okay?" she husked, Quinn stood in the spot light of the motorcycle head light, so she could only make out the shadow of the figure standing the other side of the bike. Still, there was no doubt in her mind who it was.

"I am now" she nodded, she was shaking with shock. The figure lifted the seat on her bike to reveal a compartment, which was a personal modification to the vehicle. From the compartment she pulled out another hooded cloak. She took it to the girl she cared about and wrapped it round her "Thank you" Quinn said genuinely. DarkStar bought the hood to cover Quinn's head which made her smile sweetly.

"It's okay" DarkStar smiled too. Quinn could barely see her face because of the blinding light shining behind her hero and the shadow of the hood.

Quinn couldn't help herself but lean forward, DarkStar leant in too, feeling a moment brewing between them even with two dead bodies by their feet, all they could see was the person, or shadow of a person, in front of them. Their lips were centimetres apart when they froze

The sound of sirens quickly grew louder over the steady rumble of the engine behind them "Quick" DarkStar thought without consequence. She offered her hand to Quinn who took it without hesitation.

The hero led the girl she loved to the bike, she climbed on first "Get on" she held that hand so firmly to help guide the blonde onto the bike to sit behind her. She then led that hand to round her middle "Hold on tight"

Without further warning she sped off. As soon as she shot out of the end of the alley way a police car was on their tail. Quinn held on so tightly, squeezing her arms round the mysterious girl as the street around them lit up in blue and red flashes of light.

Another car sped out at a junction ahead of them causing DarkStar to swerve but she didn't lose control of the bike, she took another opportunity and took off down a narrow alley way between two small apartment blocks, the cars couldn't follow them down there.

Once they were back on the road they ran, or rather drove, into more cop cars, she decided to double back, head in the opposite direction, back through lima heights adjacent and try and lose them in the industrial estate, if that didn't work she would lose them in the woods.

Every corner and swerve she took she felt the cloaked blonde behind her squeeze her a little tighter. It reminded our hero that she didn't need to get away just for her, she needed to get Quinn to safety as well.

…

They were lucky; they managed to lose the police through the twists and turns on the paths, alleyways and roads of the industrial estate. Rachel was getting to know it better and better every time she ventured in there; so it was no problem for her. Also most of the alley ways and paths, weren't wide enough for the cars, they were just lucky that there were no cops on bikes in the pursuit. And luckily, or stupidly, depending on how you look at it, the cops didn't dispatch a helicopter to follow her either.

The area was still swarming with cops in cars and on foot so DarkStar continued driving to the final planned location. It was also Rachel's favourite place in Lima and she wanted to share it with Quinn.

Just because she couldn't be with Quinn right now didn't mean DarkStar couldn't spend some time with her, seeing as she had just rescued the girl. Was their really any harm in spending a few minuets with her favourite girl in her favourite place?

They drove up a dirt track through the woods then to the top of a hill where there was a perfect little set up. She parked the bike off the dirt track and kicked out the kick stand to park the bike. When she cut the engine they were surrounded by tranquil silence. She helped the girl off the bike then led her away.

They sat on a small flat boulder, at the top of the hill, wrapped each in a dark cloak keeping them warm. The town down below them still sleeping, the glow of the sun on the horizon was threatening to flood the landscape, and their finger tips were innocently touching in the space between them, but it was comforting.

They sat there for some time until they could no longer hear any echoes of the sirens in the town below.

"It's getting early, I should take you home" DarkStar spoke softly, Quinn automatically turned her head to the other cloaked girl.

"Thank you for saving me, I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't got there in time" her voice was sad and a little shaky at her thoughts.

"I'd never let anything happen to you Quinn, I don't know what I'd do with myself if you got hurt. I care about you" she said genuinely

"I care about you too DarkStar" That got the hero's attention, DarkStar raised her head and looked straight at the blonde "… more than I think I should" Quinn was actually admitting how much she cared to DarkStar herself as much as she was her hero.

Rachel couldn't help herself as she leant in; Quinn saw the movement and reacted in the same way. Their lips met but they held back, trying to savour all the contact and not rush anything.

That kiss ignited something within Quinn, she felt a familiarity with the lips that were moving so softly and perfectly with hers, but she pushed any thoughts related to that away and just enjoyed this perfect moment. She was the one who took it further; she made sure it was slow as she nearly begged for permission to take it further. The girl on the other end of the kiss allowed the blonde access as she placed one hand on her waist and another on the side of her face, threading into the hood and sliding it back. It wasn't battle for dominance as their tongues met slowly and sensually. Quinn shuffled closer in her seat and put a hand on DarkStar's thigh, making sure it wasn't the injured one. She ran her hand along the brunette's leg and up round resting it on her hip. Their lips never broke contact and their eyes remained lazily shut the entire time. DarkStar's fingers thread into short blonde locks with the gentlest of grips, while Quinn tried the same trick at the hero, she tried to thread her hand inside DarkStar's hood and pull it back but that stopped everything.

DarkStar's hand pulled away from the blonde girl's waist and grabbed the intruding hand's wrist. She pulled away at the lips too "I should get you home" she muttered Quinn just nodded slowly, they both turned back to the view in front of them, the sun was still rising "Come on" she led Quinn by the hand back to the bike. She started the bike and felt Quinn's arms tighten round her middle, the feeling was so comforting, it made her feel loved, both halves of her felt loved.

**Any thoughts? Let me know**

**Reviews are encouraging ;)**


	10. Back to the Beginning

**AN: because you're all brilliant for reviewing and reading etc I've stayed up late and posted again, so here's the next chapter.**

**Posted: 16/10/11**

Back to the Beginning

Monday lunchtime... while a certain blonde is thinking of a few days before

"_Thank you again for saving me" Quinn stood next to the bike her hero still straddled_

"_I told you it was nothing" DarkStar dropped a quick kiss to the blonde's lips, making her blush and grin foolishly_

"_Oh your cloak" Quinn removed it and handed it to the other girl_

"_I'd let you keep it but could you imagine if someone found it on you, it's more trouble than its worth" she accepted the cloak back_

"_Thank you for lending it to me though" she lent over this time and place a lingering yet simple kiss to her hero's lips again "I think we might be even now" she winked before skipping, well not quite skipping but she felt like she was skipping, joyfully up the path. When she got to her front door she threw a glance over her shoulder one last time, before finally entering the house._

"Q, what's got you smiling?" Quinn didn't realise she'd been smiling to herself silently for a few minutes. Santana's voice and the three glee club divas settling into their places opposite her woke her from her memory

"Oh nothing" she stopped grinning stupidly "Just DarkStar stuff"

Instead of his usual groan Kurt started actually talking about the subject, unfortunately it was still in his negative manor. "Well did you see, they released the names of the 47 bodies that she executed in that warehouse"

Rachel sat in silence, keeping her eyes on her food and trying not to let her blood boil, she was on the verge of exploding, just like Quinn had the time this specific subject came up before.

"A few of them were students at this school" still no one said anything, just the flamboyant boy

Some of the glee club members round the table looked disappointed as their… friend put a downer on the mood yet again. Rachel also noticed how they looked betrayed, as if she'd let them down _"It's so not fair, they don't know the truth, Quinn is only one who has the smallest confirmation of what is actually happening… its not enough though"_

"And there was an orphan in that long list of names… most of them weren't much older than us… and then they found two more dead in that alley from Friday"

Quinn's head shot up, she hadn't told anyone of her encounter with her hero.

"They were both students here as well"

"… I didn't even recognise them" Quinn didn't realise she'd jus said that out loud

"What?" several voices exclaimed as the entire table turned its attention to her

"Um, well you see-"

"For god sake Q, spit it out!" The Latina on her right quickly grew impatient, and judging by the way the others were leaning in or fidgeting in their seat they were anxious to hear too. All that is, except Rachel Berry, who just looked at her salad as she pushed it round with her fork and occasionally eating a fork full.

This didn't go unnoticed by Quinn who kept eyeing her curiously

"Well two guys tried to attack me on the way home and she rescued me, she shot them… in front of me" Quinn checked back on Rachel whose attitude hadn't changed at her story.

"_When I kissed DarkStar I felt a something, something I'm sure I felt before, is it a coincidence or… is there a connection between the girl sitting opposite me and the girl who rescued me… DarkStar was shot in the leg though, you can't walk on that… then again she didn't have much trouble walking on it last Friday, but the day after could any one really stand the pain? Rachel was running fine in gym that day after…"_

"She killed them in front of you?" Kurt asked disturbing her from her inner ramble. Quinn just nodded uneasily to confirm. "Then you know what I mean?"

"No Kurt I don't know what you mean?" she mumbled. And she didn't mean she didn't understand, just that she didn't believe.

"That she's a cold hearted killer, a murderer-"

"No! She's not" Quinn snapped back. She wouldn't, couldn't hear that about the mysterious girl. She knew the truth, this boys words were tainted with speculative and false news reports.

"But what did you see when she killed them, did she show any mercy?" he grilled her getting her to really think about it.

They didn't deserve mercy! Quinn wanted to yell, but she didn't want to share too much information on such a public place "No, she shot one on the floor and one standing in front of her. Bu-" she tried to explain further but he interrupted

"So what does that make her? If one was defenceless, on the ground, had no chance…"

She thought about it. The boys bombardment was upsetting, she didn't want to show how hurt she was, and she didn't like the bad talk about the girl who saved her and one of the girl's she has feelings for, she just wanted it to end "… She's a murderer"

"See" Kurt said smugly

Everyone round the tale looked to their food again; they were silent for the rest of lunch as if in morning. If Quinn could label her that she must have lost faith and hope in their favourite hero, and if she lost faith then the rest of them would too.

No one noticed the crushed look on Rachel Berry's face when Quinn had labelled her alter ego as the m word. They were all too busy looking at their food to notice her head shoot up at the announcement of the word. And with that all the good feelings from Friday night/Saturday morning were gone, shattered, dead. Quinn had always defended DarkStar and now… well now she was just another hater to avoid.

…

Friday afternoon

It had been exactly a week that night that Quinn had been rescued by her hero and they'd shared one mind blowing kiss, and it was 6 days since Quinn had started to get suspicious of her other crush and the similarities to her hero.

The blonde with the short hair was relaxing in her room with her sketch book, she was nearly satisfied with her most recent drawing, the image displayed the kiss she'd shared with her cloaked saviour. Just as she had tried to savour that moment, she was now trying to preserve the memory in that book. She sat on her bed, leaning against her headboard with her legs bent so she could rest the book on her thighs while she created the image. Her scrap book lay open, next to her, on a page displaying one of the newspaper photographs of DarkStar, her head to the side, her facial features barely visible at the angle, but it was just the angle she needed, as a reference for her drawing.

As she was lost in her little world she didn't hear the front door bell ring, she didn't hear the murmur of voices downstairs and she didn't hear two sets of foot steps make their way upstairs. Not until the two unexpected guest were opening her bedroom door and spoke, was Quinn aware for anything around her

"Hey Q, I hea-" Quinn scrambled across her bed to hide the books stopping Santana's mouth

Quinn tried to act quickly but it was too late, the two girls in the room saw her, Santana automatically dove across the bed to see what the blonde was desperately trying to hide.

"Santana, leave it out!" Quinn's hands were still on the books as Santana grabbed them

"What have we got here?" The nosey Latina smirked, yanking at the books as she stood up, Quinn followed attached to her annoying friend by the books.

"Don't San" Quinn tried to sound angry when she warned the other girl, but it came off as worried.

"Sanny please don't be mean" Brittany pouted

"I just want to see what _Quinnie's _trying to hide" she said still smirking. She yanked at the books again, this time they slipped from Quinn's desperate hands. She fell to her knees.

"San" she reached out desperately, but the bitch in Latina didn't show any mercy, she opened the sketch book, the scrap book, dropped onto the bed and forgotten

"Whoa Quinn these are really good" she gave a genuine complement

"Okay that's enough, give it back" Quinn stood up and tried to take the sketch book but Santana turned away and started calmly pacing round the room. Brittany followed her girlfriend, looking over her shoulder to see the sketches too

"You're really talented Quinn" Brittany complimented

"Yeah… is this one from when she was in your room?" Santana asked turning the page

"Yeah, now give it back" Quinn said desperately knowing what was on the next page

"Oh my god" she cried out as she turned the page "Quinn?" she turned to the suddenly quiet blonde "I knew you were intrigued like the rest of us… but this is a picture of you and her kissing, care to explain?"

"…I drew it because" Quinn muttered and took a deep breath before explaining "We kissed, when she rescued me the night I stupidly walked home by myself, well after the run from the police… the moment and setting were perfect… we just kissed… it was… amazing" she finished with a sigh and a smile

"Oh god, you're like her Lois _Lame_" Santana laughed, Brittany swatted her shoulder. Quinn just stomped across the room and snatched the book away "I'm sorry Q" Santana gave in, especially when Brittany glared at her for upsetting their friend. "I guess she's probably into you too seeing as you've met her three times now-"

"_I'm sure I know her better than that" _The blonde thought to herself

"-and that's great and all but… you don't even know what she looks like, she could be a real dog"

"Santana!" Quinn scolded "Do you have to be such a negative bitch?"

"Well a bitch yeah, I'm not always negative" the Latina shrugged

"She's not Quinn, she'd very positive when I li-"

"Whoa Britt, I love you but too much info babe" the Latina said placing her hand over her girlfriends mouth

"Well it doesn't matter what you think S, I may not have seen her properly but I know she's good looking… I just know"

"Do you know who it is?"

"…No" Quinn had to think about her answer, because she couldn't be certain it was who she thought it was.

"…I have got one problem actually" the Latina sat on Quinn's bed opposite her, Brittany sliding in next to her "Why did you call her a murderer if you obviously don't feel like that about her?"

"Oh that… I don't know, Kurt kind of got to me and in the end I just said it to shut him up… I don't believe it, not really, I mean I know she killed in front of me… and it's not like I have a right to say who lives or dies but… those guys were really terrifying, he had a gun and …" she swallowed thickly "I think they were going to try and rape me"

"Oh my god" Brittany abandoned her girlfriends side to comfort her friend instead

"Shit Q, I should have kept an eye on you at my party, I should have made sure you stayed or that there was a designated driver or something…" The usually unbreakable -unless Brittany was involved- ex-cheerleader was genuinely worried and guilty about what could have happened

"It's okay S, it really is, because its my own fault, I chose to leave and I was rescued so you can't blame yourself or worry, everything's good, okay?"

"Okay" she muttered

"…So why did you come over in the first place?"

"Well" she suddenly brightened up "I over heard, some guys at school talking about a club on the other side of town that doesn't ask for ID and seeing as my dad found my fake one and destroyed it, and I wants some alcohol, are you in, I'm sure after talking about all this you could use some liquid comfort"

Quinn laughed "I wouldn't call it that, but sure I'm in"

Tonight was a night that would change their lives forever.

…

Friday evening

The three friends had been driving in circles round a suspicious area of town, it didn't take much to just look at the run down building and know it was a bad place to be.

The girl in the back seat was getting bored and tired, and quite frankly, she just wanted to go home. She leant forward to complain "San, remind me why we're on this side of town"

The Latina, driving groaned at the short haired blonde sat in the back "I told you already, I heard there's a club round here that serves you even if you're underage"

Quinn was getting restless, while Brittany, who sat in the front seat, was getting sleepy.

"Can we just go home? I really don't care anymore, and this place is giving me the creeps" The blonde in the back seat looked out the window on her right, she could see a group of... young men? Boys...? Whatever, she could see them standing shiftily outside some building. They were wearing baseball caps with the hoods from their sweatshirts up too, their faces were completely covered by darkness. The streetlight only just highlighted them on the dark streets

"Um, yeah…" Santana started to slow the car down

…

Meanwhile

Rachel made sure she was fully equipped for tonight's mission; it was time to strike. She made sure she had the correct range of weapons to complete her task and the best gadgets, including her latest modified tool; the head set she'd 'obtained' recently. She'd now modified it so it could pick up other calls, but there was no way to communicate back with it, it was only incoming communication meaning she could listen in on her enemies conversations.

.

DarkStar stealthily padded across the roof, her timing couldn't have been more perfect. She'd spent a week allowing her leg to heal a little. She knew it would take months, possibly years for her the tissue in her leg to heal properly and even then it would probably always cause her some discomfort.

The fact that she'd left earlier in the night to strike meant she could easily avoid the extra police patrols and she had gained this opportunity, there in plain sight, near an open window sat her target: Azimio Adam's aka Arc Zero.

She assembled her sniper rifle in the most relaxed manor possible, she lined up the scope with his head, allowed for any variables, such as the wind and gravity

She placed her finger over the trigger, she felt it give a little as she added some pressure. She steadied it again, double checking the shot was aimed true… when her ear piece picked up on a call, causing her to freeze

"_Hey, A Z?"_

"_Whas-sup?"_ she could see him talking through her scope. She thought she should listen in before she took the shot that way she'd have any more information she might need to collapse his gang.

"_There's this car that's passed us 4 times now, it looks a bit suspicious… maybe a DarkStar distraction. There's three passengers, girls, two blondes and a Latina… seems innocent but you never know…"_ the voice explained

"_If they pass again stop them… kill them, I don't car how just make sure they're dead"_

"_Okay boss" _

"_Get Tristan and his boys to help out" _Azimio instructed. Through the scope she could see he looked a lot more anxious than he sounded.

"_K, boss"_ DarkStar heard the click of a phone disconnecting but the line was till open as the other boys connected with someone else_ "Hey T?"_

"_Yeah?" _

"_Fancy you and you're boys having some fun, got a car with three teen hotties" _Rachel really didn't like the tone of his voice

The other boy, 'T' laughed menacingly _"Yeah we'll be right over"_

Then the line went dead all together

DarkStar was torn, she knew what ever happened she had to save the girls in the car and she was 99% sure she knew who was in that car, but Azimio's big shaven head was in sight, she went to pull the trigger again but backed out, if she killed him a warning would be sent out and that car carrying three innocent girls would be stopped sooner and their lives would end immediately. She huffed in annoyance before quickly packing the rifle back in its tube shaped case, throwing it on her back and running to the fire exit.

Despite what Quinn had said earlier that week and the lack of contact between them when she was Rachel for a couple of reasons, like calling her a murderer and Rachel wanting to stay friends with the blonde for her own safety which might have left them uneasy, but outside of all that she still cared greatly for her, and their two, almost mutual friends.

She basically jumped down an entire flight of steps on the fire exit at a time, she missed the last ladder, choosing to hop over the railing and jump straight down to straddle her bike. Her light weight allowed for the suspension of the bike to cushion her fall and not get damaged in the process. She started the bike and sped off just as fast as she had done a week ago. She couldn't be sure of where they could be, for all she knew she was racing in the wrong direction. She only had the smallest inkling considering there weren't many spots on the industrial estate that you could actually circle without ending up just getting lost further into the estate.

Luckily she picked the right place and the right route, she turned the corner and she could see Santana's black car surrounded by A Z's thugs, she sped towards them, as our hero got closer she saw one of the men put his hand on the door handle

She made a split second decision which could have turned out pretty stupid. She pulled one silenced pistol out of its holster on her thigh and she shot the three men standing behind the car with scary accuracy. She then jumped from the bike letting it fall on its side as it continued to hurtle forward taking out the man about to open the car door, as well as a few other's and damaging the side of the Latina's car.

She rolled as she hit the ground stopping on her knees, she then stood up quickly and ran to the car, leaping onto the trunk and stepping onto the roof.

"What the Fuck?" she heard one of the men yell as he turned and aimed his gun at her, she pulled the other hand gun out of its holster, this one didn't have a silencer. The others still standing surrounding the car all turned to her too and started firing. She returned the fire, taking them down confidently as their poorly aimed shots just whizzed past her head, and their better shots hit her in the chest causing pain but no damage.

The street lit up in flashes from the gun fire. All of a sudden she felt a familiar burning sensation in her leg causing her to flinch then stumble, she felt herself falling then nothing when her head collided with the ground. Her guns fell from her unconscious hands.

She felt herself moving again and, a tightness in her chest from the amount of point blank shots she'd been abused with. She heard someone yell "Drive!" and then heard the screech of tires in a wheel spin.

She could hear more voices

"Who is it?" Santana asked once they'd sat up and were clear from immediate danger

"It's DarkStar"

"Well duh" the Latina asked, as she kept glancing in the rear view mirror to check they were safe "Un mask her"

"Santana, I can't" Quinn uttered, looking over the body below her

"Is she even moving" Brittany asked looking down at the hooded girl.

Quinn inspected the still body, which lay across the back seat, her head resting on Quinn's lap. She checked over her fallen rescuer, she noticed movement in her chest and so, could confirm one thing "She's breathing"

"Unmask her" Santana said again, excitedly, but almost like nervous shaky excitement.

"I don't know San" Quinn thought back to the last rescue and the kiss and how that had ended because she tried to unmask the girl

"Yeah Sanny" the Latina's girlfriend tried to calm her.

"Oh for fuck Sake Q, she owes you her life, I think she'll let it slide" Santana pointed out, though she didn't really believe her words she was just eager for Quinn to believe them

_Would she really not be bothered, I've spent too much time around her and when we kissed it killed "the moment when I tried to pull the hood back… I just want to see her face so much, screw that, I have to know who she is, I have to know if she's…"_

Curiosity got the better of Quinn, she'd been waiting for an opportunity like this for so long. "Ok" she said softly. Brittany watched intently while Santana kept on driving. She slowly reached out to grab the hood, immediately remembering the last time they'd had contact like this, she then pulled it back slowly and let out a small gasp, her suspicions were confirmed

"What?" The Latina snapped, annoyed that she had to keep her eyes on the road

"It's Rachel" Brittany answered, surprised

"NO Fucking way!" Santana yelled, bringing the car to a screeching halt so she could see for herself

She turned so she was in her car seat on her knees looking onto the back; she looked down at the 'super hero', inspecting her face

"It is Berry" she said disbelieving as she just looked down at the unconscious girl.

The tightness in her chest was building up she felt like she was suffocating _"Wake up Berry!"_ her mind screamed. Her eyes shot open and she sat up abruptly, gasping for air. Her head almost collided with the Latina, leaning over her.

She tore open her leather sleeveless top, and looked down at the bulletproof vest pinned with several rounds. She winced at the pain, then started muttering to herself

"Shit, I lost the Ducati… ahh, shit my leg, one damn lucky shot, the bastards" she turned to the three girls in the car "what the fuck were you doing out there?"

"Oh don't thank us Berry, Q just saved your fucking ass"

"It wouldn't have needed saving if you three weren't being ridiculous… let me guess you over heard about a club out here that serves underage… it's a code, there's a criminal underworld out there!"

"Y-you're Darkstar?" Quinn asked; she couldn't believe that after all that time, all that worry, all those confused feelings, it was Rachel the entire time, just like she'd hoped and suspected…

And, well, you know what happened next…

**AN: so next chapter continues from where the short intro finished in the first chapter**

**Let me know what you think...**

**Sorry for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes :/**

**Reviews are encouraging ;)**


	11. Confused and Enlightened

**AN: Thank you so much for all those reviews everyone: you have no idea how encouraging and happy they made me :D You are all amazing! Seriously!**

**AN2: sorry this took longer than I'd hoped; it was supposed to be up yesterday, but I need to re-do it so it took an extra day… and yeah its really sappy :/**

**Posted: 18/10/11**

* * *

><p><span>Confused and Enlightened<span>

"So let me get this straight" Santana started, pouring herself another drink "You had that sick bastard in your sights and you didn't pull the trigger?" they'd moved to the sofa area, still in the basement

"Uh huh" Rachel confirmed

"You left to save us?" Santana asked for further confirmation

"Yep" Rachel answered as if it was no big deal

"Wow" that was as good as gratitude from the Latina

"How about you, Britt? Are you okay" Rachel asked the other girl opposite her

"I'm fine Rach, I'm just surprised that you're DarkStar, I mean you're so tiny and you get shot at and your legs all bloody, are you okay?"

Rachel smiled at the taller blondes worried ramblings "I'm fine, thank you"

"That's bullshit Berry, you've been shot in both legs in the space of less than two weeks, how the fuck are you even walking on that?"

"Santana, you don't have to worry about me-"

"Who says I was worried?" Santana jumped in, in a calmer tone than before

Rachel sighed and rolled her eyes "I take an unhealthy amount of painkillers to ease it a little, unless I plan on _working _that night, then I don't take any because I need to be able to concentrate"

Rachel didn't like how quiet Quinn was, she was just staring at her glass that was balanced on her thigh as she ran her finger round the rim

"How do you deal with it mentally, like how do you take those lives and carry on at school like nothing's happened?" Santana asked another question

"I guess my dads trained me to be soulless; when I put the DarkStar outfit on I don't think I act on instinct… but I guess lately that side of me that I could quarantine off, started melding with everyday me"

"You're saying you have a split personality?"

"No, not exactly…" she looked at the quiet girl sitting a short distance to her left, on the curved sofa "It wasn't until I met Quinn, while I was DarkStar for the first time… I guess o couldn't hold those feelings back. It wasn't until that night that I started to care, with Jack and … Mia… my emotions now effect me" She finished her explanation sadly. She hadn't noticed Quinn's brief glance at the mention of her name, she was now looking back at her glass, like before.

"Mia, she was the one you wanted to save?" Brittany asked, seeing the situation was already sad so now was a good time to ask, that and she couldn't stand the awkward silence

"Yes Brittany, I hardly knew her but I still feel terrible about what they did to her and the girl she loved. That's why I'm still determined, I'm going to let my legs heal a little for a couple of weeks then I'll be back out there" The two sitting across from the revealed hero, who were actually verbally present in the conversation, didn't tell her how stupid that was, they knew it wouldn't stop her.

Rachel needed to know what the blonde with the short hair was thinking. "What about you Quinn? How do you feel, now knowing who I am and what I've done?"

"… Confused" her voice sounded broken, but at least she answered, all while still staring at the glass "And I guess a little enlightened too"

"Really?" Rachel asked curious at the quiet, but not angry blonde "What's got you feeling that?"

"I'm confused as to why you couldn't tell me" she finally made eye contact with her revealed hero "You spent more time with me as DarkStar, you kissed me as DarkStar, by choice not because of a game, and _you _told me we couldn't be together because you have commitments. And it turns out this commitment is being DarkStar... and there you go including me in that dark side of you Rachel. You pushed me away as you are now but held me close when you were DarkStar... I don't get it" Tears were shining in her eyes as she looked intently into Rachel's "Were you ever going to tell me?"

Santana wanted to open her mouth to ask about when had Quinn and Rachel spoken about any of that, she knew Quinn went to talk to Rachel, she never found out what had happened. She didn't get a chance to ask anyway, before she could speak, Brittany put her hand over her mouth as she tried to listen to what Rachel was about to say.

"I would have, eventually but..." Rachel thought about the best way to word her explanation, she put her glass on the table and shuffled along the circular sofa towards Quinn to speak a little more intimately "it's that typical, super hero conundrum, problem… of the superhero not telling the girl they love who they are, and not truly being with them because if their enemies ever got any information on them, it would put the one they love in danger…"

Quinn hadn't even been looking at Rachel while she spoke, afraid she'd betray herself... but Rachel's words had been enough to soften her mix of emotions right now "The girl you love, huh?" she finally glanced at Rachel then back to her glass.

"Um Berry?" Santana interrupted "I don't suppose we could get out of your twos' way?"

"Sure, Santana" Rachel nodded "out the basement, then up the stairs. The first door on the right, you two can have the room. There are spare night clothes in the dresser"

"Thanks" she finished her drink before leading Brittany quickly away

Rachel waited until she heard the basement door click shut before she continued "Yes, the girl I love… I didn't want to scare you when you came round the other day so I toned down my feelings, I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you Quinn, in many aspects. How do you feel about DarkStar being me?"

"Well I like you… and I like the dark no longer mysterious, alter-ego, you…" she laughed a tiny amount to her "I guess its as if I knew"

"Like?" Rachel asked, trying and failing to hide any disappointment. Quinn just nodded "Well I love you"

"Yeah, you said" Quinn was still looking at her lap "_This is awkward… and I bet if I dare turn my head and look into those perfect eyes, she'll be hurt, or hiding that she's hurt… who wouldn't be when they just confessed they loved someone to get a 'like' back?... so what's the problem Fabray? Huh, you haven't had a gay panic yet, are you going to run and hide?"_

"What are you thinking about? Are you going to have a gay panic?" Quinn regretted it but at Rachel's words Quinn looked straight at her, she broke her own heart when she saw that hint of hurt in Rachel's tired yet still beautiful eyes.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" she asked cautiously.

Rachel smiled, yet her eyes remained sad "I kinda have a sixth sense" she then grinned and chuckled

Quinn couldn't help but laugh too. Once their laughter faded the serious conversation continued "I can't admit anything to you Rachel, until I know I can't lose you"

"I won't leave you" Rachel rushed out "if that's what worries you"

"No, not just that… I worry that you-"she took a deep breath and looked far into the brunette's eyes "What if you went out one night and didn't come back? What if you got killed? I don't know what I'd do"

Rachel shuffled even closer, she took the glass form Quinn's hand and put it on the table before taking both of the blondes hands in her own. "I promise, that won't happen"

"How can you promise that?" those threatening tears were back

"I can promise that, because if I had you, I'd have a reason to make sure I'd come home safe every time" she said with a cheeky smirk

Quinn's face, mainly her eyes brightened up just a little "Would you stop all that for me?" she bit her bottom lip anxiously.

Rachel paused for thought "… Yes… but after I get Azimio" Quinn was silent, looking at their joined hands, making Rachel very nervous "I can't let him get away with everything he's done"

"Okay" she finally answered

"Okay?"

"Yes" she met Rachel's eyes again "I can accept that much" she knew she was being selfish but she'd never felt like this around someone else before. Maybe she should let Rachel know that then...

"Thank you" Rachel was sincere "and what about us… I always want things too much but I've never wanted anything as much as I want you Quinn… so will you be my girlfriend?" Rachel beat her to all the right words

The blonde with the short hair started to really smile, she replied by leaning over and pressing a firm yet simple kiss to the brunettes lips

"I'll take that as a yes then?" she breathed when Quinn pulled back

"Uh-huh" The blonde agreed, before moving back in for a kiss they were more familiar with.

…

Meanwhile upstairs:

Brittany and Santana were cuddle up in the double bed in Rachel's spare room, too tired from that evening's events to do anything else. They heard shuffling and quiet voices outside the bedroom door, then they heard another door open and close, shutting out those noises they heard before.

"Sounds like they're happy" Santana muttered half asleep, her head resting on top of Brittany's, and her arms wrapped round the blonde.

"Yeah, they're so good together" Brittany replied, her head resting high on Santana's chest, cuddled into the Latina's side.

"I'm surprised we didn't see it before" she thought she had a great gaydar.

"I did" Brittany added "It's just a bit sad now, knowing Rachel's DarkStar"

Santana looked down at the blonde in her arms, her eyes now open "What makes you say that Britt?"

"Well" Brittany moved out of the warm embrace to she could have a proper conversation "DarkStar gets shot at all the time. When she told us about the 47 she didn't kill, she said she could have died there with them. I just don't want to see Quinn sad and Rachel… dead" it was blunt but it was reality

"Britt you are so smart… I didn't think about that" she propped herself up on one elbow, cupped the side of Brittany's face and kissed her softly, partly as a reward and partly because she really wanted to.

"That's because you're not he same type of smart as me" Brittany accepted another kiss "I love you San"

"I love you too, always" she dropped another kiss, firmer than those before.

"What are we going to do about Rachel?" she asked stopping the kisses

"I don't know Britt, but I'll think of something" she said, uncharacteristically softly "But right now, I just want to kiss you"

Maybe it was the seriousness of the situation earlier that evening that had bought this softer side of the Latina on, Brittany wasn't sure, but she like it… as long as it was only temporary

…

Barely after sunrise, the following morning

"Hey" Quinn's soft voice alerted Rachel to her presence "What are you doing up so early?"

Rachel was sat on the concrete floor in the garage, on the left side of Santana's car, she'd removed one of the door panels and was working on the other

"Hey" she greeted back, leaning her head back to accept an upside down kiss from her girlfriend, who leant down to deliver it. "I stole Santana's car keys off her bedside cabinet, I had to move the car in here before people outside could see it with the bullet holes and the scraped side. I know she'll probably kill me for driving her car… even if it was only 10ft" she laughed lightly.

"Why didn't you come back to bed after that?" she asked, sitting down next to the brunette

"I though I should start fixing this up… that way I might get away with driving her car… and teasing her for how cute she and Brittany looked snuggled up together" she giggled

"Yeah they're pretty cute together, when Santana doesn't have to be so defensive, like at school" Quinn smiled, admiring the girl next to her "So who am I dating, Rachel or DarkStar?"

"Both" the hero answered "You own my whole heart" she moved in for another kiss, but Quinn's outbreak of laughter stopped her "What?" she asked defensively

"For what you do, you are so soft" she sighed "But I love you for it" this time she leaned in and Rachel pulled back, eyes wide.

"You love me?" it was the first time Quinn had said it, and she didn't even realise the words had slipped out.

She bit her bottom lip, in a way Rachel found adorable, before answering "Yeah, I already knew I did, but I was too scared to say it"

Rachel just smiled "I love you too, and you don't need to be scared, I'll protect you" she leaned in much slower than before

"I'm sure you will, you've saved me twice" they inched closer and closer, until their lips finally met and their eyes drift closed

Quinn was more dominant this time, she initiated the movement and she asked permission to take it further, of course Rachel didn't refuse. The way they sat led their hands to settle on the same cradling places as their hill top kiss after the run from the police. Quinn had wondered if the other events of that evening had made the kiss more exhilarating than it really was. She was wrong, a kiss with Rachel really was that mind-blowing.

"Okay short stuff so here's the deal" Santana strutted into the garage with Brittany not far behind, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet. The sound of her voice broke Quinn and Rachel from their sanctuary, they quickly pulled away reluctantly, a little dazed but still able to comprehend what the Latina was saying "After a lot of thinking, and I talked to Britt, we've decided we want to join you"

"We want to be super heroes too!" Brittany added making what the Latina had said clearer.

Rachel was speechless, she turned to her new girlfriend who was still looking at their friends curiously.

She then met Rachel's stare "Me too"

* * *

><p><strong>So it's a bit short, but it's still an update, right? : let me know what you think...**


	12. Not Just a Mask

**AN: so this was supposed to be up a couple of days ago and I have serious excuses: the computer blew up (quite literally, well there wasn't any smoke but its severely broken and I've only just been allowed to go near my mums laptop lol) also I've been unwell, I haven't been this unwell in years so yeah**

**AN2: I'm a bit worried about the mixed response in the reviews (although I'm still very appreciative of them as well as alerting and favouriting and just reading, so thank you:) ) I'm going to stick with my original idea but I'm trying to make it work reasonably (my sister: **_**left my heart in Paris**_**, gave me the idea (although I can't use it just yet) but when I do use it in a chapter or two, well we'll have to see if it works :/) I hope I don't put any of you off :/**

**Posted: 23/10/11**

* * *

><p><span>Not Just a Mask<span>

"What?" No, No way! No way in Hell!" Rachel managed to exclaim after she got over the initial shock of what they were actually suggesting

"Why not?" Quinn asked

"Because I've trained for this!" she yelled. They were being ridiculous, you couldn't just put on a costume and pretend to be something you're not, this wasn't a movie!

"Hello? We're Sue Sylvester cheerio's; we can handle this" Santana pointed out as if that would make all the difference.

"I don't doubt that you are all physically fit enough to cope with… stuff like that" she said looking between the girl sat next to her and the other two stood by the door "even though you quit cheerio's like a year ago-"

"Oh come on Berry, training with Sue might have been hell but I kept my body in shape" couldn't Rachel already tell? She was kinda insulted

"We totally have" Brittany confirmed, she'd know better that anyone.

"Yeah I still have my abs" Quinn added casually as she stood up

"Really?" Rachel asked looking the girl up and down, she shook the thought away and went back to the serious conversation "Look, I don't doubt your physical capabilities but I've been trained so specifically; my mind is as sharp as a Hattori Hanzo sword-"

"I don't get it" Brittany muttered into her girlfriend's ear

"Kill Bill reference" she explained quickly, Brittany just muttered an 'oh' before turning her attention back to the girl still sitting on the floor

"-And I'm a deadly weapon, but you guys are athletes… and innocent not like me" she hoped the flattery would work "you could get hurt, any of you and I can't let that happen. It's not a game out there" she tried to stand up and failed because of the pain "Can some one help, please" she held up a hand, Quinn grabbed it and yanked the girl to her feet. She realised too late needing help in standing up was probably sending the wrong message... she also tried to not show how impressed she was by the ease in which Quinn pulled her up. "Thank you" she steadied herself "any way as I was saying, I've been trained for these situations since I was 11 and despite my dads strict exercise regime that limited the equipment I used, I was stubborn and thanks to that I'm pretty sure I stunted my own growth by using the weights too early, hence my height- I'm getting off the point: I then had 5 months intense training before I went on my very first mission; which was a simple task of scouting for information"

The four were quiet for a moment after Rachel had finished her rambling, then Santana decided to open her mouth "I bet it would take the three us it 2 months" she said cockily and crossed her arms

"Wow you think so highly of yourself" Rachel shook her head and stormed out of the garage back into the house "You think you're better than me is that it Santana?" she went into the kitchen to wash her hands and get a glass of water, before facing the three girl who had followed her "You have no idea how much of my life has gone into this, you think its simple? Huh?"

"Calm down Berry that's not what I meant"

Brittany saw the mask Rachel had left on the kitchen side the night before when she'd rooted through the kitchen draw to find the wooden spoon. The other three girls were in conversation and didn't notice the taller blonde innocently pick the mask up.

"Then what did you mean Santana?" Rachel huffed, putting the glass down and folding her arms.

Now it was Quinn's turn to use flattery "She meant, with you training us, while you let your legs heal for a short while, we'd be ready in no time" Rachel just rolled her eyes, she recognised her own tactics.

"Yeah what Q said" although no one knew it, that was really what the Latina meant, she just didn't want to sound like she was kissing ass

"So you want me to train you, to be able to climb, run, fight… kill, you really want that, that life style" how may would really chose that life style. How many would actually be able to take a life if the... opportunity rose?

"Yes!" Santana and Quinn exclaimed together

Before Rachel could protest further, Brittany distracted them "Look guys I could _so_ be a super hero" they simultaneously turned to see her with her hands on her hips, wearing DarkStar's eye mask.

Santana just smiled "You look great B"

Quinn couldn't help but giggle a little at how the tension in the room had been broken by the taller blonde

And Rachel couldn't help the smile that grew on her face "I really appreciate your enthusiasm Brittany but it takes more that a mask"

"But your just Rachel right now" Brittany said taking the mask off and approaching her friends "But when you put this on" she slipped it over Rachel's head and lined it up over her eyes "You become our super hero, DarkStar"

"Thank you Brittany" The smaller girl smiled "But this mask is just a disguise" she explained taking it off. She looked over it carefully. She had spares, of course she had spares but she always used the same mask. She ran a thumb over the fine stitching from one of the repairs in the simple black slip of material.

"Why won't you let us help you?" the taller girl whined

"Because you'd all be my responsibility and this is getting difficult enough" she said sadly

"But Rach if we were a team it would be easier wouldn't it?" Quinn started

"I couldn't let any of you get hurt" she continued "Santana, despite the fact that we're hardly friends, I don't want you to get hurt, Brittany you're too sweet for that life and Quinn… it would tear me apart if something happened to you"

"Please-"

"I think you should all leave now, I hope you can keep my secret. Santana, your car won't be ready until tomorrow so you can take mine as a replacement" she looked down at the floor to not see the hurt in any of their eyes

"…Okay… what if we don't keep your secret?" Santana pushed, hoping some how she could use it as black mail to get the shorter brunette to allow them to help her.

Rachel looked up from the floor "Well normally I'd have to kill anyone who posed a threat to revealing my identity… but considering that I care about you, all of you as friends and more "she glanced at Quinn "I guess the only thing I could do is fake my own death and leave town before I got arrested… and that means I would have failed my dads"

"Okay, just wanted to know" Santana chirped with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Car keys are on the table by the door" Rachel instructed

Santana and Brittany just silently left the room to get changed while Quinn waited with Rachel "Rachel? Why won't you accept our help?"

"I already said" Rachel sighed roughly, aggravated "I don't want any of you to get hurt, especially you"

"But it's okay for me to see you get hurt? Look at the state of you, you can barely stand up. What if your wounds are infected-"

"I don't know, okay, I have no idea what I'll do, my life will be over I guess" she yelled dramatically "Don't worry okay?"

"No, I do worry, I'm your girlfriend now and I feel responsible for your safety"

"Don't okay, you don't need to, I'm capable of being by myself"

"Oh" Quinn said bluntly "So you don't need me"

"Quinn that's not what I meant-"

"No I get it you don't need any one, this was a bad idea, you and me" she pointed between them, then turned away and started to leave,

Rachel limping behind her "Quinn wait" she sighed

"I guess we're over before we had a chance" she said continuing to leave

"Are you serious?" she grabbed Quinn's wrist and spun her round "are you going to break up with me because I won't let you help me and that side of my life?"

Quinn avoided eye contact and didn't answer, instead Santana and Brittany came down stairs and were ready to leave "Ready to go Q?" Santana asked as she picked up Rachel's car keys.

"Sure" she answered not looking at them but heading for the front door

"Really Quinn, that's it?" Rachel yelled

She didn't answer the question she just said "You need us Rachel" then closed the front door.

Rachel sighed and collapsed onto the sofa, the mask still in her hands. _"Is it possible? Even if I had two months, could I train them… could they be trained…should I even allow them into that world, it wouldn't be right, despite anything and everything. They're all too innocent, they couldn't be killers… then again, I don't think anyone could believe that I'm a killer unless they saw the truth…"_

Meanwhile outside

"Q, what was that?" Santana asked as they got into Rachel's car

"Nothing" she muttered, putting her seatbelt on and slumping into her seat.

"Did you just break up with her even though you just got together last night?" Brittany asked innocently

"I don't really know… I'm being spiteful and childish I know, but I want to help her" she folded her arms, only emphasising her childishness "I don't necessarily need to be by her side every moment of her life, I just need to know she's safe"

"I know, after seeing her get shot I worry about her too" Brittany admitted

"What if she gets ill from the gun shot wounds, or hurt again and doesn't tell us… I don't really want to break up with her" Quinn muttered

"Then why did you?" The Latina asked

"I don't know, I was just acting on how I was feeling in the moment" she sighed "I'll phone her, or go see her later"

"Good, you two are so perfect for each other" Brittany said looking back over her shoulder to the other blonde, with a smile.

"Thanks Britt" she smiled before turning her attention out of the car window. She furrowed her brow when she realised something wasn't right "Um San, my house is in the other direction"

"I'm not taking you home, I've got a new plan… I'm worried for her health too and… damn it I want to help" she said adamantly "Since we quit cheerio's Azimio's made our lives hell as well as the rest of Glee and then we find out what that bastard's done and what he really is and… grr I just want to…" she gripped the steering wheel tightly until her knuckles lightened

"Get revenge?" Quinn asked

"Yeah" the Raven haired girl said lowly

"Me too"

"And me, he's mean to our friends and he kills people, I knew I didn't like him for a reason" Brittany finished, almost sagely.

"So how are you going to convince Rachel?" Quinn asked, wondering what Santana's big plan was

"Well, she needs to see a doctor" Santana turned onto a familiar road

"She won't go to a hospital, I've tried just telling her to go twice" Quinn reminded her

"No, not a hospital... but my dad, he might be able to help"

"Santana are you crazy, you can't tell anyone!"

"Hey" Santana stopped the car outside her own house "Not everyone is against DarkStar, we're proof of that… and not all the adults believe the news"

…

Rachel must have fallen asleep for an hour or two because the next thing she knew she was waking up to loud banging on her front door. She managed to stand, mildly wincing in pain, and limped to the front door. She opened it to find the three girls she'd sent away that morning and a tall tanned man holding a doctors bag. Her eyes widened and she tried to slam the door but Santana shoved her foot in the way

"No Berry, you need this" they all filtered in, Brittany closing the door behind them. Rachel recognised an intervention when she saw one

"Santana are you crazy, you can't bring your dad here" she whispered harshly as the girl invited her in "sorry sir" she turned to that man now entering her house "But I don't seem to understand why you're here" she played dumb

"Rachel its okay" Quinn stood next to her and gently held her arm "We told him, he's going to help you"

"You can't go round telling people!" she yelled at the three girls

"But Rach, we don't want you getting sick" Brittany said innocently

"Rachel, my daughter and her friends are worried about you and after what they told me, I'm a little worried too, I need to check your injuries"

Rachel sighed and looked to the floor "Okay"

"Can we go somewhere private?" it was more of a suggestion, he wanted a word in private.

"I guess the basement would be best" she gestured to the door, before pulling away from Quinn and heading to the door.

"You three stay here" he instructed, before following the short brunette. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she switched the light switch on but didn't unleash the DarkStar base with the thumb print scanner.

"Are you going to turn me in?" she took a seat on the bar itself so she was high enough for him to check her leg

"Why would I do that?" he asked opening his doctors bag on the bar top surface next to them.

"Because you know who I am, I'm a wanted criminal… wanted for _murder_" she emphasised the last word. She could run, she knew she could... unless the police had already been called. No she could still run, take a bike and just speed away.

"My daughter asked me not to" he took a few items out before turning to her "Sorry can you…" he wasn't in his usual environment and this wasn't a usual case so he was a little uncomfortable.

"Oh" she realised what he meant and slid her jogging bottoms off revealing her two bandaged thighs "Why aren't you freaking it, calling the police, you're… just…"

"Doing my job?... Rachel you need to understand that in my profession I see a lot of different cases, some that ask for confidentiality, others that demand and threaten for it, and I know from their injuries that there's more to Lima than meets the eye. So I trust you, and your alter-ego, just like my daughter does" he explained as he checked the older wound first

"That means a lot to me sir" she said quietly "I hope you keep your word and don't tell on me" she tried to say light hearted, but winced and flinched in pain as he got too close to the wound

"I won't okay, but I need a few things from you first"

"Of course" she agreed politely

"Well, San told me everything that she and her friends care for you and want to help you"

"You have to be kidding me, you can't argue that you want my life for your daughter"

"No, I don't want that… I really, really don't want that. But Santana is very head strong and she's going to do what she wants to do no matter what" he stopped the examination for a moment and bowed his head ashamed of what he was about to ask "I don't want her to do something so reckless, or for her friends to either but... you know they're all determined... I'd prefer to know they were all in safe hands"

"Seriously" she bowed her head too to find his eyes

"Seriously" he confirmed, though he sounded very reluctant "she's already talked me into letting her move in with you"

Rachel let out a heavy sigh "in the last 13 hours 4 people have found out my secret identity, I may be getting a house mate and I'm being persuaded by a doctor who I considered a sensible man to let his daughter and two others to 'join forces' with me"

"Well from the looks of your injuries you need to take it easy for _at least_ a month, you have a minor infection on the right one, where the round went all the way through, the other could have been a possibility but with some antibiotics it_ should _be okay. But I'm going to need to check up on you next weekend"

"A month?" she huffed

"At least" he confirmed taking some medication from his bag "I want you to stick to the prescribed dose, do not exceed it, understand?" she nodded "Good, now I'm going to go home and finally get some sleep, I was working the night shift last night and… well a couple of young men with strange injuries to their legs came in" he looked at her suspiciously

She thought about it "_oh maybe when the bike slammed into a couple of them and didn't kill them?"_ She thought to herself "Thank you Dr Lopez"

"That's okay DarkStar, be careful, okay… with them upstairs as well"

"I will… I really will" he let that be his exit and made his way out of the basement. He'd driven there in his own car separate from the three girls who were waiting patiently upstairs. A few minutes later Rachel was back in the living room with the other three girls.

"What the hell was that!" she startled all of them "You basically gave me no choice, no warning you just waltz in here with your dad! And tell me what I'm going to do. So thanks to you Santana I have doctors orders, I _apparently_ can't do any DarkStar business for a month and I have to consider you three and _apparently_ Santana you plan on moving in with me" she had started her speech at the basement door and finished it standing intimidating in front of the three girls.

"Actually we all want to move in if you're going to let us train with you" Quinn spoke up

"Well this is just fucking fantastic!" Rachel uncharacteristically yelled dropping onto the other sofa "You three are really screwing with my life" she put her hands over her face then pushed them back through her hair "This doesn't seem real"

"Well sorry Berry, but lets face it the glee club are your fan club and Q's your biggest fan, in fact she's your Lois lame"

"That joke was _lame_ the first time San" Quinn sighed

"Wait, so we're not broken up?" Rachel looked over seriously

"Are you kidding, she'd so head over heels with you. Do you really think you'd broken up over something like that" Santana moaned, Quinn smiled weakly "the point is, we're like your fans, your followers and now we know who you are, there's no getting rid of us. You can help us and we'll do you proud meanwhile we'll be able to protect ourselves or you don't and we become another thing for you to worry about if you 'enemies' find out who you are" Santana explained in a classically rambly bitchy tone.

Rachel looked at the three different expressions on the three girls faces. Santana was just waiting expectantly for the answer she wanted, Brittany looked hopeful and Quinn just looked worried and anxious

"Why are you doing this to me?" she groaned, then sat up properly and thought carefully about her decision "Right… I'm out of action for a month… so I'll train you, in any spare time we have for the next four weeks… if I think there's hope for you, all of you" she emphasised "Then I will consider continuing with the training"

She regretted saying those words as soon as she saw their faces light up, Brittany was so innocent, she didn't want to make her a killer. Santana could be a crazy bitch, she really didn't want to put a gun in that girls hand. And then there was Quinn, she didn't want to put her girlfriend in danger and she didn't want that life for the short haired blonde either.

Quinn was soon sitting by her side, hugging her, thanking her and muttering apologies for her childlike black mail attempt earlier that day. Rachel just rolled her eyes "Don't worry about it Quinn, but just understand I'm going to be the most annoying other half you've ever had"

"Oh really?" Quinn raised an eyebrow

"Yeah, I'm going to be clingy, and over protective and really bossy while you're training" she warned with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"I look forward to it" Quinn grinned, she cupped the side of Rachel's face and bought their lips together.

* * *

><p><strong>Any thoughts? Seriously I know this is really weird and not worth the wait, I'm not proud of it at all. I was just trying to make it a little more realistic <strong>**for this verse!**** So its weird but I'm trying to make it work… who knows where I'm even going with this, I don't any more :S**

**I'll try and make it better :/**


	13. Truths and Lies

**AN: yes I'll admit I've been avoiding this, I came up with an idea to give some depth to a character and so I can maybe kinda half fix this, but if I've lost readers then… well thy won't see this so to who ever is reading this: Thanks for sticking around and I hope you stay (and I hope I can convince those of you unsure to stay too) … I'm sorry but it will, eventually, be all four of them as 'superheroes'**

**AN2: this chapter actually works better with what I've got planned in a couple of chapters anyway :/**

**AN3: and thanks for all the reviews and stuff :)**

**Posted: 1/11/11**

Truths and Lies

Rachel was stirred from her light sleepy state by another nightmare. Things were moving too fast, it had taken one day for the three girls to weasel their way into her secret life and she didn't like it.

As she laid there, her new girlfriend –what a surprise that had been– spooning her, she just couldn't relax. Every five minutes she'd think of the worst possible scenarios, Quinn being captured, the enemy doing unspeakable things to her, Quinn being killed… then she'd think of Santana and Brittany, how terrible she'd feel if one of them, lost the other… then she'd think back to the night that girl, Mia, died in front of her, just having revealed that the enemy destroyed the girl she loved, they tortured and destroyed this girls love, for nothing but…

_"She was an entertaining kill"_

Remembering Karofsky's words sent a shiver down her spine. She couldn't lie there anymore, she needed help and there was only two people who could truly understand her, the two who had created her. She carefully removed herself from her girlfriends hold and silently escaped her room.

Once she reached the sanctuary of her basement she scanned her thumb to turn it into DarkStar's base, she then turned on the computer and made a video call. She noted the time, it was just before 5 a.m. but her fathers had always said she could call when ever, and seeing as it could very well be important she didn't see the problem

She wheeled her chair to in front of the screen and dropped herself into the seat as she waited for them to answer the other end. After a few seconds the screen lit up

"Hi daddy" she said with a half smile, when she saw her taller father with the glasses appear on screen

"_Hey sweetie, what's up?"_ he asked sleepily

"I got some trouble" she said hesitantly

"_How bad is it?"_ he yawned, pulling a chair up to the desk where his computer sat

"Kinda bad, I'm safe" she reassured him "But… is dad there? I want to talk to both of you"

The man on the screen rubbed his eyes before letting his glasses fall back down in front of his face and looked beyond the webcam _"Yeah he's here"_

The other father appeared in front of the screen _"What's wrong, baby girl?"_ his voice tired but not upset at being disturbed.

"I have some new friends" she cringed

"_Oh really Rach?"_ the newer addition to the video call sighed, his shoulders dropping _"Couldn't this have waited a couple of hours-"_

"No, not really, it's not just me that's made these friends, DarkStar has too… they know" she clarified

Both men looked far more awake now, mixed with worry and concern _"How bad is the damage?"_

"Very bad" she sighed "I'm sorry but they're my friends in school and I had to save them, I got hurt, I'm Fine!" she stressed "But they found out who I am" she looked down into her lap ashamed "And they insist on helping me, helping DarkStar, they want me to train them"

"_Rachel"_ They both scolded _"You can't, there isn't enough time, it would take years"_ the taller man stressed

"_You didn't say yes did you?"_ the other asked worriedly

"They cornered me" she yelped in defence "they put me in a situation where I couldn't say no. They used Santana's dad and- I don't think any of them realise what kind of hell they've let themselves in for-"

"_Whoa, calm down honey, what was that about Santana's dad?"_ the shorter father asked

"Santana's dad, they told him. You see, he's a doctor, so he looked my injuries to check that they're healing properly… he was here, he knows and he requested I look out for them before they do something stupid by themselves. He's even allowing Santana to move in with me, another thing she forced me into" she looked defeated, slumped in her chair

"_A doctor you say?"_

"Yes… wait you're not mad?" she asked surprised

"_What's his name?"_

"I don't know his first name, but his last name is Lopez" she answered confused as to where this is leading. At her answer the two men looked at one another, as if having a silent conversation, then finally back to their daughter.

"_Before we left you in Lima"_ The shorter man began to explain _"We found out that many of the thugs were targeting doctors, they'd threaten them to supply them medication and patch them up, no questions asked, making it all off the record. We confronted a few of them to find out the damage, I don't think we met him but the others we spoke to all had families that were being threatened. The gangs possibly threatened Lopez with his daughter's life"_

"I wouldn't put it past them" Rachel muttered

"_So perhaps he wants her away from him for some time, he probably knows you can protect her"_

"But he can't expect me to turn her into a killer" she said unbelievingly

"_Would you even do that though?"_ They questioned her

"No… I've told them I'll train them for a month, and if they make good progress then I'd continue. But I also promise Quinn I'd retire when I get Azimio-"

"_Wait! You think its okay to tell one of your friends that you're going to hang up the cloak but you don't tell your fathers"_ now they really did sound disappointed.

"Well…" she bit her lip anxiously "Quinn is my girlfriend, our relationship has moved really fast but I love her and that's all that matters, right?"

They avoided the actual question, just wanting information to analyse their daughter right now _"Is she one of the ones who want you to train them?"_

"Yes" she answered simply "I know what you're thinking, she could get hurt, or see me get hurt"

"_Rachel, you need to be extremely careful, I don't agree with what they've done and I don't agree with you for letting them get away with it"_ the man with glasses scolded her, but he wasn't too angry

"Don't worry" she stopped them "I've been thinking about it all night, and I'm going to lead them on. It's mean I know and it could lead to me actually losing them all, as a girlfriend and friends, but it's for the best. Dr Lopez said I need a minimum of a month for my recovery, but I've handled injuries before, I'm going to have Arc Zero dead in three and a half weeks, they'll never have to fire a gun" she half smiled, while the other half of her was just waiting for their reaction to their plan

"_It's dangerous, but that sounds like it's for the best Rachel. We love you, please be careful"_ The shorter man said

"_Yeah, baby girl, we don't want you getting hurt any more… but I understand your worry for your friends… just take care"_

"You agree with my plan then?" she asked surprised that they didn't just tell her to chuck the other girls out.

"_It's devious, but it seems like your only option now"_ one of them sighed

"Okay, thanks dad, daddy, I love you both" She tried to smile, but I just wasn't in her at the moment, she still felt like she'd failed them... she could fix it though "I'm signing off now, stay vigilant"

"_Stay Vigilant"_ they replied in unison before the screen went black.

She hardly got a moment to her self before a fist was slamming against the basement door "Hey Berry, I thought we were a team, whys the door locked?" she heard Santana's slightly muffled voice yell through the door.

She sighed, yet again before getting out of her chair. She ascended the stairs, shutting down the DarkStar base as she went, unlocked the door and yanked it open, making the Latina and two blondes repel from the swift, angry action "We are not a team, you are all yet to train, and until you are ready you cannot have an opinion when it comes too DarkStar matters got it" she snapped

"Sure" Santana answered casually, folding her arms and glancing Rachel up and down in some sort of intimidation technique.

"Before anything I need breakfast" Rachel continued and started towards the kitchen, the other three girls following behind. Then she remembered something and stopped "But before that I need Quinn, we'll meet you in there, cereals in the top cupboard next to the fridge" she sent Brittany and Santana away, they were hesitant but eventually left. Once they were alone Rachel asked "Are you okay?" she held both of Quinn's hands in her own

"Yeah, why are you asking?" the blonde furrowed her brow with worry and confusion

"I just want to make sure, I know there's no stopping Santana, but I wanted to make sure that after a good night's sleep, you haven't by chance changed your mind have you?" she asked hopefully

"Sorry to disappoint you but I want to be by your side" the corner of her mouth turned up in a weak smile

"Okay" she glanced to their joined hands disappointed "Come on let's go find the other two before they do something to my kitchen" she pressed a soft kiss to Quinn's cheek before dragging her through to the next room.

…

"Right we need to talk" Rachel announced as the four sat round the breakfast table "I need to go through a few things, Rules and stuff"

"I don't do rules" Santana answered abruptly as she ate a spoon full of her cereal

"Well you will Santana, because this isn't a game, this is real life, where a wrong turn can get you killed"

"Are all our talks going to be like this?" Brittany asked looking up from her cereal bowl

"Some times they will be Brittany, but if you want this then that's the way it's going to be" Rachel said softly, knowing Santana might _try_ something if she hurt the taller blonde.

"It's okay, I was just wondering" she shrugged before returning to her breakfast.

'_Damn, I thought I'd managed to talk one of them out of it then'_ Every moment with these three girls, Rachel found herself feeling more uneasy and hopeless, her plan of lying to them would have to suffice.

"So as I was saying before, when we're 'working' I'm in charge… you thought Rachel Berry Captain of Glee club was annoying, you just wait"

... It turned out she couldn't put them off with her old annoying personality didn't work either. There was just one thing left to try before continuing with her original plan

…

Quinn approached Rachel while she was clearing away the breakfast things "I was wondering" she stood besides Rachel as she spoke "As Santana's moving in after school, tomorrow. Will that be an okay time for me to move in too?"

"Um, Quinn" she stopped washing the bowl in the sink and turned to her girlfriend "I really love sleeping next to you and I've loved this weekend having you around but… I don't think I can let you or Britt move in… not yet anyway" she recovered when she saw the blondes face drop "It's just, it's a bit suspicious to have you all move in"

"Well you could ask Santana to hold back" she suggested. Why did Santana get priority?

"It's not that simple" Rachel muttered, looking over her shoulder to check no one else was there "Her father might be in trouble, the gangs always need healing like I do when there's… 'accidents'… they might have threatened him with Santana's life, I mean she hasn't got any siblings and her mother left them… so she's all he's got… you mustn't tell her though, she can't know"

"But what if something happens to him?" she whispered harshly

"He'll be fine as long as he cooperates with them. Anyway, not much longer and this will all be over" she was very sure of that, she'd end this soon especially with the new found motivation of wanting to prevent her life for these three girls.

"I'm glad… did you mean it when you said that you'd stop being DarkStar when Azimio is… dealt with" If Quinn couldn't even refer to someone as dead how could she ever kill anyone?

"Yes, I did mean it, I've even told my dad's and they seem okay with it"

"They shouldn't have trained you, it was wrong, they shouldn't have made you into this" she muttered looking down at her hands

"We might not be where we are right now, if I hadn't. We might have never got this close" the hero suggested

"True, but we might have still worked out" she shrugged "and then I wouldn't have to worry about you"

"I wish I wouldn't have to worry about you, in the same situation"

"Forget it Rachel, this is happening" she finally looked back up.

'_Not if I can help it'_ Rachel thought to herself. She turned to face Quinn properly, she cupped the side of her face before leaning forward and delivering a simple soft kiss to her lips. She smiled when she pulled back and heard Quinn whine in disappointment "More of that later, now I just want to cuddle on the sofa with you" she suggested

"I guess that will do for now" she smiled

…

Later that day and it was finally time to start this thing

"So you want to train?" Rachel asked the three lounging girls who were sat in the living room

"We're starting today?" Santana quizzed

"Yeah, we should get started straight away, only got a month remember. So who of you wants to show me what you've got?"

"You mean…?" Quinn trailed off

"Who wants to fight me" she said rather cockily

"…I will" No surprises that Santana took the offer up first

"Okay, follow me…" she headed for the basement door "all of you" she clarified when Brittany and Quinn looked hesitant to move

They switched off the television and followed the girl to DarkStar's base. They weren't sure they'd ever get used to the simple action Rachel did that transformed the room. She made sure the door was locked, remotely this time, before continuing to lead the girls through the room.

She came to a panel in the corner near the bar and slid a small square out of the way, revealing another laser thumb print scanner. An invisible door opened revealing a large, well lit room "Welcome to the training room"

"Has this been here the entire time?" Quinn asked looking at the secret space in awe

"Yes, it was where my fathers trained me" it was just a simple open plan room, but it was huge. The flooring was slightly padded for the sake of preventing injuries, so where the walls. The new faces weren't sure if they were padded for sound insulation or for protection from injuries.

"Are you sure you want to do this Santana?" she walked to the centre of the room and turned to face the three girls still standing near the entrance "You don't know what you're letting yourself in for" she warned

"Okay Berry, you're on but I don't think this will be fair to you with your injuries"

"Don't worry about me, just bring it Lopez" she gestured with her hand before clenching it into a fist and parting her feet to balance her weight

"Ready?" the Latina asked as she mirrored the shorter girls stand

"Uh-huh" Rachel confirmed shifting her weight

The Latina started by slowly circling Rachel, while still facing her the entire time, she was sizing the injured hero up. She took a quick, light step forward to strike but was met with a swift, air cutting punch to her nose

She jumped back in shock and threw her hand over her nose, partially covering her mouth "Erry, wha the fuh?"

"What was that Santana?" Rachel stood up straight, although she was still mentally prepared if the Latina tried to strike again

She moved her hand higher over her nose, away from her mouth "I said: what the fuck?" she yelled "You've broken my Fucking nose!"

"And you call me a drama Queen" she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms "I didn't hit you with enough force or at the correct angle to actually break your nose Santana"

"Still…" she moaned "That fucking hurt"

"And that was just one punch" she pointed out raising her eyebrows suggestively "If you can't handle that, there's no way we're continuing this" she turned to leave the basement

"Hang on Berry, you're not winning that easily" she heard the raven haired girl growl behind her.

Rachel turned to see the Latina looking seemingly unharmed, standing ready to fight again with Brittany standing behind her, looking proud. Quinn was now standing to the side waiting in anticipation, hoping Rachel didn't hurt her friend but hoping Santana wouldn't hurt her injured girlfriend slightly more

Rachel smirked "Ready?"

"You bet ya" Santana smirked back

**Let me know what you think… *Shrug***


	14. Tears of Satan

**Posted: 4/11/11**

Tears of Satan

After that weekend when they found out Rachel's secret, Santana moved in permanently. Brittany and Quinn would spend most of their time there too but would go home to eat dinner with their parents and sleep in their own beds.

The next weekend all four girls were in the same house, sleeping where they had the weekend before.

Quinn was cuddled up to Rachel's side, Brittany clinging to Santana as the house slept peacefully that night… unfortunately not all things work out so simply

…

The last thing they remembered was falling asleep, so imagine their shock when they're waking up, tied to a chair in a dark room under a spot light, it was like something out of a really bad cop show or movie.

Santana sat in the middle, Quinn to her left and Brittany to her right.

They all nervously looked round them, the glare of the shining spot light they sat under meant they couldn't make out anything in the darkness surrounding them. As the haze of their deep sleep cleared they noticed someone, on the edge of the light they saw someone crouched, looking over... over someone else who was lying on the floor, facing away from them

"This one tried to be smart" A voice echoed round the dark room, while the person in the black hooded sweatshirt and light blue jeans inspected the body, then stood up straight still looking down at it.

Quinn gasped, followed by Santana and Brittany when they recognised the night wear the body was wearing and the long soft brown hair of the tiny body. It was Rachel

The silent figure nudged Rachel's body with their foot

"Don't touch her!" it was Quinn to speak first "Rachel?"

"She tried to protect you, you shouldn't have tried to help… she might still be alive" An evil tone surrounded them "Her actions cost her, her life and now we'll see what your choices will lead you to lose" they finally realised recognised the voice as Azimio Adams aka Arc Zero.

"Rachel! No wake up, you can't be dead!" The blonde with the short hair started to sob as she struggled to free herself from her chair "You can't be…" she trailed off in a desperate yet defeatist tone, leaning forward in her chair and crying

Santana was speechless, Brittany tearful for their loss.

"What do you want from us?" Santana snapped defiantly, trying to be strong for the other two girls

"Well let's see here… I don't think Berry could possibly be the DarkStar she claimed to be before she died. We want to know which one of you it is, the others will be let off lightly… In a manor of speaking" he chuckled sinisterly

The figure turned to face them, their grey hood up, inside their face covered by a ski mask, the only think visible were two piercing blue eyes. They waved the pistol in their right hand to emphasising it before approaching them

"And if none of us own up to being DarkStar?" she asked as her breathing became heavier

"Then I torture all of you, if one of you owns up and I believe you, I only torture you, the other two will be killed quickly" they all swallowed thickly

Santana took a long inhale before speaking "It's me"

"Santana no" Quinn whispered harshly

"San? What are you doing?" Brittany whimpered

"I'm sorry Britt but I can't see you get hurt like that" she said to the girl on her left

"Don't give up yet Santana" Quinn said harshly

"They've got a gun and we're tied up, what the hell are we supposed to do?" she said to the girl on her right

"Santana Lopez" Azimio's voice interrupted from the darkness "I can see that, you could be her… but I don't think so"

"You already killed her" Quinn shouted "It was Rachel, she was the one killing your men, avoiding your guns, and you killed her!" She screamed "You didn't even get to take pleasure in that kill" Quinn held onto a tiny bit of satisfaction at that fact

"Prove it" Azimio demanded

"Just check her body, there's scarring and wounds on her legs" she spat at him, even though she couldn't even tell where he was standing.

The figure returned to the body, shielding it from them as they checked for wounds. The thug then turned to a spot in the blind limits of the room and nodded

"So Berry was DarkStar" he evilly chuckled "Such a waste, three bullets and it was all over"

Quinn started sobbing at his cruel nature, she couldn't help it

"That's it, cry… I'm guessing you were more that friends, you're hurt even more than the others" he twisted the metaphorical knife that had been stabbed into Quinn's heart

"Shut up you bastard" Santana defended her friend

"Enough of that… what I want to know is, were you working for her?"

They didn't answer

"I need to know how much of a threat you are and who else might be involved… maybe all your glee club friends"

"Keep them out of this!" Brittany yelled this time

"Are you her ally's? Tell me!" he shouted across the room

Again they didn't answer, they were either crying or scared silent, you could see it on their faces, but still they said nothing, after all those words already spoken

"Continue" he instructed, they all looked at the person with the gun

The figure in the ski mask circled them, brushing Brittany's neck with their gloved hand as they passed, causing her to flinch

"Don't fucking touch her!" Santana screamed in anger

"You don't get to tell us what to do!" Azimio's voice boomed from the surrounding darkness "Now tell me what was your affiliation with her"

Tears were streaming down Quinn's face as she stared at the Rachel's lifeless body

"Are you working for her?" he roared

What was the answer? Were they, they'd only done some primitive training. Santana was shaking in her seat, she felt so hopeless when she saw that Brittany was crying, whimpering softly

"Tell me, or I'll take her life" Azimio said as the figure stood in front of the three of them again, holding the pistol up, pointing it towards Brittany, her shiny eyes tried to make contact with the blue ones in the ski mask

"No! No! Don't you dare, you fucking bastard I'll kill you if you harm her!" Santana struggled to break free from her restraints

"Last chance" was said lowly

"No! Britt-" her words were cut short by the life destroying explosion, as the trigger was pulled and blood splattered from Brittany's chest... her body was still

Santana hung her head low, she was as still as the body next to her, Quinn on the other side of her was in shock, she looked between the broken girl next to her, the murdered one further away and the lost one on the floor, how could this be happening? The room was deafly silent, Quinn just waited for her own end to come

The broken Latina broke the silence and stillness of the room, her shoulders started moving her breathing short and then an identifiable noise was coming from her: Santana Lopez was crying

"You Son of a bitch" she raked in her sobbing to say lowly and deathly, looking up at the shooter through her eye lashes and tears "I will fucking ends you" even at a moment like this, her personality was still there

"What are you going to do? Huh?" The intimidating voice said with no real emotion, no sympathy, no heart.

She was silent before she looked up properly and started laughing, the tears were still there, she was still crying but her voice was laughing "You idiot… don't you see now, we have nothing to lose you fucking idiot! You've killed all we care about"

"What about your families?" Azimio asked with mischief

"Don't you see, if I don't have her I don't care anymore. And that is why you're in trouble!"

"No, you're in trouble" the figure in the ski mask lifted the gun again waving it in front of the Latina "and you" The gun turned to Quinn

She just shook her head slowly, her mouth hung open slightly and her face soaked in tears, glancing between the set of icy blue eyes from the mysterious figure and the body on the floor "I don't care any more" she muttered and closed her eyes waiting for the shot but it never came. Santana's eyes bored into the cold eyes of her loves killer daring them to take the shot but they didn't pull the trigger.

Instead the person disappeared into the darkness… after a moment of unnerving silence the lights came on, causing them to shut their eyes tightly for a second at the sudden brightness. Once their eyes readjusted and they were able to open them they realised they were in the DarkStar training room in Rachel's basement. And they were alone… except the mysterious person in the jeans hoody and the ski mask, with the gun… there was no Azimio, none of his gang members, no one

On closer inspection of the body on the floor, Quinn felt relief when she saw it wasn't Rachel, it wasn't even a real person, it looked pretty realistic though.

After the relief she was hit with confusion, she looked up at the only person walking round the room. Santana had a similar expression but she was still worried about Brittany. The ski mask was removed to reveal a familiar short brunette.

"Rachel?" Quinn asked softly, eyes widening in relief

"I had to" she was apologetic as she removed the thick black gloves

"What the fuck have you done to Brittany!?" Santana shrieked

"Calm down, the sedative will wear off in a second" Rachel knelt in front of Brittany's chair, she removed her coloured contact lenses, that helped her disguise, before careful raising Brittany's head "Britt" she started softly, the girl stirred

"Rachel… you're dead, so am I… are we ghosts?" The true blue eyed girl grumbled hazily.

"No, It was fake, I put a fake blood pack in your clothes when you were sleeping, and I had the trigger for it to exploded when I fired the gun" she explained, for all of them to hear. She then stood up and walked round Brittany to break her bonds "I was firing blanks" she added as further explanation to all of them

"You fucking bitch, why would you do this?" Santana was hysterical, could you blame her though

"Calm down, it was a training exercise" she made sure Brittany was conscious enough to not fall off her chair before moving along to cut Quinn loose.

"That's a pretty fucked up training exercise" Santana said, still sounding furious.

"No it's not, it tests everything, your ability to handle the worse possible situation, you all faced death. Santana you said it yourself, if you don't have her you don't care any more. You faced your fears, and I needed to know how you'd handle it" Quinn was finally free, she immediately stood up, dragging Rachel up too and pulled her close for the tightest of hugs, so tight it was as if she'd never let go again

...Of course she did eventually pull away to slap Rachel straight across the face "Don't ever scare me like that again" she warned lowly. Then her voice softened again "I thought I'd lost you"

"I guess I deserve that, but… I had to" she said sadly, whist holding her face where the skin was tingling from the harsh contact. Quinn lowered Rachel's hand and replaced it with her own to apologetically inspect the reddening skin, she then slipped her hand round the back of Rachel's neck and pulled the girl closer to she could press her lips, hard against Rachel's

"I really thought I'd lost you" she whispered again when she briefly pulled away, all before diving in again for another kiss, a little softer this time, slower and more intimate too.

"Hello, still tied up over here!" The angry Latina interrupted.

Rachel pulled away from Quinn with an eye roll. She wandered back to Santana and cut her restraints allowing her to jump straight to Brittany's side

"I was so scared then B"

"San have you been crying?" the blonde inspected her girlfriends face

"Yeah for you Britt, only ever for you" After a lot of hugging and a short make out session between Santana and her girl she turned to Rachel "You are so dead Berry!"

Once she knew Brittany was okay she was on her feet and marching over to the shorter brunette fist raised. Rachel smoothly and effortlessly caught the fist, engulfing it with her own smaller hand, she then twisted the Latinas arm and while she was weakened pushed her back, using her own foot placed behind Santana's to topple the taller girl over. She landed on the same seat she'd been tied to moments ago "Take a seat and cool off Lopez"

"How could we hear Azimio?" Quinn asked looking round the big empty room

"I had a microphone in the ski mask with speakers set up over there" she pointed to the right side of the room, where she'd directed her gaze during the 'training exercise' "and I have enough samples of his voice to create the voice changing programme. You couldn't hear me because his voice over the speakers was so much louder" she explained

"And how did you get us all down here?"

"Same sedative I gave Britt, when I brushed her neck I subtly injected her with enough. My dad developed it so I know exactly how long it takes to work so I timed it. My left glove had a remote button in it to trigger the blood pack and the sedative with a small needle in the finger tip" she explained further "I used a slightly higher dosage on all of you while I moved you all down here and finished setting it up"

"You did all this for a 'training exercise'?" Quinn asked, only half surprised, well this was Rachel Berry after all.

"Actually my dads did this to me, only I was alone one of my dads played the 'villain' with the voice, in this case Azimio's and the other played the thug" she shrugged "So before any of you have a go at me, I've been through this and nearly the real thing so that's why I put you through this. I need you to know and understand that this isn't a game, real lives will be taken and if we do this right none of them will be ours"

"I just can't believe that any one would do this and it not even be real" Santana stood slowly, showing that she wasn't about to try and strike the hero again. Deep down she couldn't believe Rachel had gone through this alone and that her own fathers had done it to her. Fair enough for Rachel to do it to them, even if they were friends now it could still count as payback for everything else they did to Rachel before, like the slushies or the name calling.

"I know, it was mental torture, just be glad I didn't use physical torture" Rachel warned, with some very dark mischievousness beneath her words

"Did your dads-"

"No" she cut Quinn's quiet voice off "They showed me how to torture, so that I can do it effectively… if I was ever the one in control of this kind of set up, then I could cause maximum pain, minimum damage"

"You really scared us Rach" Brittany's expression was adorably sad, Santana put an arm round her girl to comfort her

"I'm sorry Britt, but it was the plan. I had to test you all. If you couldn't have handled that, the way you did then there was no reason to continue your training"

"And how did we handle it?" Santana quizzed

"Have you ever seen V for Vendetta?" she asked them "The part where Evey, is in that cell, she's tortured, 'they' take everything but her life from her and when she says she'd rather die than give them what they wanted well, V told her she faced her death, so he could let her go, he could trust her" they all looked at her confused "The point is, I made you all face your worst fears, dying or losing someone close to you" she looked at Quinn "I'm glad you didn't break up with me for this by the way" she hinted a smile, that even in this moment of time, Quinn couldn't help but unconsciously return it "And Santana, you were going to cover up, to save your friend and girlfriend from pain and then Quinn, you only told my secret because you though I was already dead, you didn't want to see them get hurt… but you all accepted that you could just die in that minute… and all you tried to do was all you could do… not prolong the inevitable" she smiled sadly "You were all so brave in the face of death" she sighed "I guess it's a fucked up way to look at it but, I feel like I can trust you now, and I feel confident that you can handle some of this… my life style"

"What else is there to handle?" Santana exclaimed

Rachel had pure sadness and sympathy in her eyes as she answered "Taking a life"

**Probably should have posted this tomorrow, on the 5****th**** of November but... oh well**

**Please let me know what you're thinking… I'm getting such a mixed response and I'm trying to keep a balance (still going with my original plan but making it work…)**


	15. Well, well, well

**AN: lets make this quick, this is filler, not many chapters left and thank you ****QuinnSexRiot ****for helping me get some confidence back for this fic**

**Posted: 12/11/11**

Well, well, well

As they were leaving the training room after their fake ordeal, she told them to take a seat on the sofas in the base, while she got them a drink to settle their nerves.

When she approached them she saw Santana eyeing the wall opposite the one half covered with fire arms. Her collection was running a little thin, she'd have to go on inventory collection mission… or she could ask her dads for some assistance, it's not like she did often anyway.

She settle some glasses and a couple of bottles of different spirits on the table in front of them "Something for your nerves" she poured herself a shot of vodka "I know it's not healthy but it works, and I know how you're feeling right now"

"I want you to teach us how to fire a gun"

"Huh?" Rachel wasn't expecting that... actually maybe she was she just wasn't expecting that to come from the Latina's mouth _now_. But any other day of the week she'd be expecting some sort of demands from Santana.

"After that, I feel its best we know everything. We should stop with the slow progress-"

"It's been two weeks" the hero attempted and failed to interrupt

"- I want to be able to defend my self with whatever I can get my hands on" she was starting to sound desperate "I need to know" she was staring at her glass and rambling "…Everything" she met Rachel's eyes "you can't do this alone… not because you're not capable, you're DarkStar, we know you're capable it's just... I don't want you to get hurt"

"Careful Santana, you're starting to sound like you care" Rachel chuckled lowly. Though deep inside her head she wasn't laughing, her plan had backfired, yes she'd scared them with the reality of the situation but rather than back out, they more determined and they wanted to be able to protect themselves "_typical!" _She thought to herself.

"Yeah Berry, but I get it, some of it" she muttered "Please, I want to know how to do more"

"Me too" Brittany seconded

Quinn was quiet but her eyes spoke loudly, despite her being hesitant, she still wanted this

"I'll have to do an inventory check, see how much I can spare before I can get some new weapons. But… I think I can allow it, maybe some knife throwing also, I still have a lot of throwing knives" she partly noted to herself

"That sounds good" Santana agreed

"And maybe we can up the rest of the training" Rachel told them.

"Like…?" Quinn asked

"Well for a start you could actually try and fight me Quinn, you have to stop hesitating because you know I'm injured. You should be angry with me know maybe that will help" she reminded her girlfriend

"I know Rae, I just can't think of you and get aggressive"

Santana sniggered with Brittany. Rachel chose to ignore her and Quinn just glared before Rachel got her attention back.

"As sweet as that is, I need you to stop hesitating Quinn, or I won't let you go out there" not that she planned on any of them actually using a gun or knife or their fists except for in training. "I know, tomorrow afternoon" she settled down next to Quinn and put an arm round her girlfriend, she was relieved when she didn't tense up at the action "when we train, I'll where the ski mask, hoody jeans and coloured contacts again"

"I could get angry at that… I guess"

"You guess, Quinn I love you but I need to know if you want to do this"

"I really do, for our friends, for Lima and for you" she kissed her sweetly, Rachel liked this much more than the slap earlier.

.

After a few more shots Rachel decided they could all use some rest "We'll train in the afternoon, I'll give you the morning to sleep, relax, what ever you need as this was your first bad experience…" she offered her hand to Quinn as she stood pulling the blonde up with her "I hope you can sleep tonight" Rachel now had sympathy in her voice as she directed that at the other pair there.

The blonde with the short hair was curled into Rachel who held her protectively all night, her last words before she finally drifted off were "I can't lose you Rae"

The hero kissed the top of her head "You won't, I promise"

…

Santana and Rachel's friendship hardly existed when their girl friends weren't around, and considering they now shared permanent living space, that was kinda weird.

Their girlfriends had left to go back to their families, Santana hardly saw her father when they lived together anyway so this wasn't much of an adjustment for her, leaving the two girls to their usual quiet evening

"I understand why you did what you did the other night" Santana broke the silence in the living room, the unlikely friends were getting along but they didn't generally say much to one another in the evenings.

Rachel's attention was on the Latina as the words left her mouth "What?"

"I said I understand why you set that up in the basement the other night. I get it now, I know I pretended I understood when you explained but, you really scared me" She spoke surprisingly softly. Rachel didn't think she'd ever had a serious conversation with the girl "I was pissed but now that I've calmed down, I get it" she wasn't making eye contact with the hero who listened intently "You made me realise just how much I need Brittany. People think she needs me to look after her but I need her just as much. And when I thought she was dead… you were right, like I said, I was ready to die too because if I don't have her life's not worth living" a tear rolled down her cheek and Rachel was quickly by her side

"San its okay, Brittany's safe" she assured her, thinking of holding her but then realising that was a really bad idea "… you don't need to help me, I can do this myself. I don't want you to lose one another either"

"No we're helping you Rach, I can't sleep knowing that- that bastard is out there and others like him" she sniffed as a few more tears fell from her eyes "I need to protect her, and if I can help bring one threat down I will"

Rachel smiled when Santana called her Rach, it made her feel like they made a major breakthrough in their ever progressing friendship "I won't let anything happen to any of you"

"Good, because I now know how important she is to me" she wiped her face clean with her sleeve and cleared her throat "On the day of our graduation I'm going to ask her to marry me" she nodded as she spoke and finished by looking at Rachel for an opinion

"Oh, wow San. I wish you both the best" she said with sincerity "and I'm honoured that you shared this with me"

"Well it's all your fault, for letting me get in touch with my deepest feelings again" she said behind a smirk "… thank you"

"You're welcome" she attentively moved forward for a hug and was a little surprised when she was met with Santana's own arms wrapping round her for a warm, friendly embrace

"So" she pulled away but stayed sideways in her seat looking at Rachel "How's things with Quinn?"

"Fine…" she answered slowly and cautiously "Why are you asking?"

"I just told you my deepest feelings about Britt, I need to know yours for Quinn so I can use it as ammo, if you try and tease me about this" Now it all made sense

"Santana I wouldn't do that, not when there're bigger problems happening right now" Rachel told her with more sincerity

"Then talk with me… after your little act you put on for us I also came to another major realisation, I need to be a little more respectful and less bitchy round you" Rachel eyed her curiously "But only here, I get it this is your house so we're friends here right? And when you're DarkStar you're boss… but I'm still calling you Berry at school" she clarified sternly "wouldn't want anyone to get suspicious" she winked

The hero let a smile escape "Thank you Santana, that's going to make this all a lot easier"

"So… how's things with Quinn? You two hit things off pretty quickly"

"I guess we did" she shuffled awkwardly "I think, well when we talked, we confessed feelings for one another, but I straight away told her I couldn't be with her because, well because of DarkStar. I couldn't hurt her. And then I kissed her as DarkStar… she must have known… this whole thing's a mess really"

"But you care about her right?" Rachel nodded "So the rest doesn't matter, you're together, you're happy together. That's all that maters right?"

"Once Arc Zero's taken down, everything will be right" her tone changed from the unsure one before to a serious one

"You just want her safe, and that's what I want for Brittany" the Latina pointed out

"But this is my mess, my fight in the first place, you should be safe. You don't need to do anything" she turned her head away

"Don't try that again Rachel" she shook her head gently as she spoke "You're not getting rid of us now. I get that we've only been training a week and a half but I know we can do this" she moved so she could look into Rachel's eyes "And this isn't just for us, it's really for you, Rachel. We're helping you, we'll do the best we can and won't let you down"

"You better not _Lopez_" she finally smiled

"No way, I'm so determined to do this, I've already got my superhero name ready"

"Go on then, what is it?" the brunette asked, already amused

"Eclipse" she almost whispered

"Care to explain your choice" she raised an eyebrow with curiosity

"Because I will be the last thing they see before the lights go out"

Rachel laughed, Santana didn't look hurt, in fact she laughed a little too "that's kinda funny… its not because you're a twilight fan or something then"

"What? No" she sounded quite adamant "Not that I dislike the books or films but… I think I prefer super hero movies" she smirked a little

"Well, coincidently, I happen to have quite a selection of super hero movies" she pointed to a shelf next to the television in the corner. You couldn't try running around being called a superhero and not be a fan of them in the first place "we could watch one… I could get some popcorn" she offered

"I guess that would be a good idea, I'll pick one"

Soon Rachel was back with the bowl "Which one did you pick?"

"V for vendetta, you mentioned it during the fake situation and I've never seen it before. So I kind'sa want to know what the heck you were talking about with the Evey character"

"… I guess I relate to the so called hero type character in that. People aren't sure of him, those who feel threatened of their leaders find V inspirational I guess but a lot don't trust him, they think he's a terrorist. He actually kills people like I do rather than beats them up, he's always evading the police and he's misunderstood, almost how I used to hope I was"

"You are misunderstood" Santana declared for the smaller girl's confidence "No one knows why DarkStar has done what she's done. But I know it's for a good cause"

"Thank you Santana… lets just watch this yeah?" she settled the bowl between them on the sofa as the film began to play.

.

Two hours later, the movie was over, the bowl near enough empty and it was getting late

"I get it now, your reference and the similarities between the reasons he did that to her, and why you did what you did to us… and your dad's doing it to you. I'm just really glad you didn't go as far as he did. I don't think I could work the shaved head look" she threw that in to lighten the moment

"That's okay Santana, and I'm sorry I had to do it"

"You already said, many times. You needed us to be sure right? And I am, so sure"

Rachel nodded with a tight lip smile, she then glanced at the clock on the wall "It's getting late, I'm going to head up"

"I guess I will too, then" they switched off the television and locked all the doors before heading up

"Good night Santana"

"Good night Rach" they slipped into their separate rooms, loving the peaceful feeling and lack of tension between them.

…

Friday found them at their usual lunch table. It was quite relaxing for Rachel not hearing Kurt make all those negative, opinionated, perhaps even truthful, comments about DarkStar. You'd think she'd be stressed out considering she was trying to train three newbie's at the same time as healing her own wounds and still doing back ground checks through surveillance cameras and phone lines she'd tapped into on Arc and his thugs, but compared to the usual DarkStar routine it was quite refreshing and relaxing.

In fact the entire two weeks since they found out her identity had been almost bliss in comparison to her usual life. It was still stressful putting up with their insisting but after that it had been a breeze.

Everything was going so well until that Friday lunch time when an unfriendly face approached their table and their worst nightmares came true.

"Well, well, well" a familiar voice caused the hero and her trainees to freeze as he approached the glee club's table "Some of the boys have over heard you talking about DarkStar" he stood behind the three trainees

They tried to relax but obviously with their many discussions of the hero, he was suspicious of them, exactly as Rachel had figured

"So are you her fan club or something?" he teased sinisterly

"Why don't you back off Azimio?" Puck clenched his fist on the table top, standing up for his friends

"I don't know what's worse, you lot being in that joke of a club, homo-explosion or you all worshipping that mother fucking son of a bitch" maybe his super aggressive reaction to having to even mention DarkStar should have spoken loudly to the Glee Club, but it was missed by most... not the four girls though.

"Get lost Azimio" Sam and Puck stood up, slowly followed by Mike

"Chill man, I was just asking" how could he snap back to normal like that? Rachel often just wondered how he could ever pretend to be a normal jock with his secret life behind him. Probably the same way Rachel put that part of her life behind her every time she left her house in her Rachel Berry disguise "So any of you actually seen the freak?"

Rachel tried to ignore the boy but when he said that her eyes discretely shot to the blonde girl opposite her. The table was silent, with the three boys still standing defensively trying to get the bully to leave.

"Actually yeah" Finn stood up, Rachel wanted to dive across the table and stop him "Quinn's met her a couple of times, they talk sometimes and we know that she's not crazy, that something big is happening in Lima and she's protecting her"

"Oh is that right" Rachel could see the fear and anger in the crime boss's eyes, his glare burned into the back of the blonde's skull sitting in front of him. He knew, he knew that Quinn might know who he is and what he is, he'd found golden ammunition and Rachel could see it.

Fear washed over her, Santana and Brittany shared concerned looks and Quinn froze as he bent down and muttered lowly into her ear "You better watch your back, she's gonna cause trouble for you" He then stood up again and seemed his usual asshole self "See you round, comic book club" and left with an evil chuckle, feeling good about himself and his threat.

Mike, Sam, Finn and Puck all sat down again as Rachel abruptly stood, she glared directly at the boy next to her girlfriend "You Finn Hudson, are a Fuckwit" she yelled uncharacteristically and with that she walked round the table took Quinn's hand and led her secret girlfriend out of the cafeteria, Santana and Brittany followed quickly, glaring at the same boy as they left

"What did I do?" he looked at the others round the table who just shrugged and continued eating

Mean while Rachel led the other four to the choir room and gestured for them to sit while she paced back and forth in front of them

"Okay, Berry, you're starting to make me feel sick, what do we do?"

"That's what I'm thinking about Santana, obviously Quinn will be his target to get to me, and then after that there's you two and the rest of the glee club, to worry about…" she stopped pacing and looked at her, now closest, friends "I think it's best if you two move in with us, that way I can at least protect you better. I'm not sure how you'll persuade your parents but if you move in with me it can help to draw attention away to your families as well"

"I'm sure my mom and dad won't mind, I've stayed with San at her house for 3 weeks in the summer, we hardly left her bedroom" Brittany said in a way that made her sound unattached to her own words.

"O...kay" Rachel really didn't need to know that "I don't care what you get up to when you're in your bedroom at my house but please understand you'll have to leave it often for training" Even if Rachel didn't plan on the three sitting in front of her ever fighting crime with her she still preferred if they could protect them selves to some extent. "What about you Quinn?"

"I'll think of something, I'm sure I could use an excuse with something to do with a Glee club assignment, that might work" she convinced herself

Rachel couldn't let anything happen to any of them, it was already her fault they were in this mess, if she hadn't been so attached to Quinn or her alter ego, maybe if she hadn't let DarkStar get so close to Quinn and maybe if she'd gone to Santana's party Quinn wouldn't have left and got… attacked and maybe if she'd killed Azimio sooner, a lot of trouble could have been avoided

It was too late for maybe's now though. She had to face the here and now, and it wasn't looking good.

**Let me know what you honestly think…**


	16. One more step

**AN: just a short one, a little bit more progress before the final part. And thank TrustInFaith for requesting an update tonight**

**Posted: 15/11/11**

One more step

Rachel, in her hooded sweatshirt, ski mask, and coloured contact lens set up easily dodged the fist flying towards her face, the Latina missed with a grunt, she kicked her leg out, again Rachel dodged it easily and took the opportunity to strike the opponent.

Santana grunted as she was struck in the gut but she didn't falter, she manoeuvred her leg to trip Rachel. The hero saw the move coming and stepped back. She stamped her heel onto the Latinas foot causing her to wince in pain but again she didn't give up.

Rachel was the assaulted from the side, she caught the fist twisting the arm. The blonde with the short hair moved with the twist to minimize pain, she used her foot in a sweeping motion to try and knock down her opponent. Rachel jumped, missing the sweeping motion. She released the arm and stepped away.

A third person joined the assault, sending kicks and punches flying towards the hero, she had to continue back to dodge the determined rhythmic assault. She finally got an opportunity, though she couldn't stretch her leg out to trip someone, as she was still in a lot of pain. So she dropped to her knees and grabbed the ankles on the blonde with the long hair sending her to the ground. She pinned her there straddling her waist.

The raven haired girl attacked from her left to get the hero off her girlfriend. Rachel fended her off with one arm while holding a surprisingly strong Brittany down with her other limbs and body weight. She had to release one arm when Quinn attacked, actually managing to get a few strikes in.

Santana managed to strike Rachel in the side of the head, but received the same slam to the head from the hero. Brittany managed to toss a distracted Rachel off of her, and all three of the trainee's took advantage and with three different yet synchronised actions that dropped Rachel to the floor with a thud. Quinn straddled her and Brittany and Santana each took an arm "Got yah" Quinn said lowly a grin creeping onto her face and her breathing exhausted as she looked into the shocked disguised eyes.

She freed one of her arms so she could remove the ski mask "I've never been pinned before" she breathed heavily as she spoke, surprise evident in her voice

"Why? Quinn not doing her job in the bed room" Santana sneered

"Santana, that's none of your business" Rachel warned. Now that the mood was relaxed Brittany let go of Rachel's other arm.

"Lunch break?" Brittany asked, her tone so innocent compared to the deadly weapon she was becoming.

"Sure, you're dismissed" she said as a partial joke.

Okay so it had taken all three of them to take her down but she was a deadly assassin and they were three ex Sue Sylvester Cheerio's, which at first sounded impressive but compared with Rachel's label, it meant nothing.

The fact that between them they'd pinned her, did mean that they'd made major progress in the last five weeks, the training had been boosted in the last two weeks when Brittany and Quinn moved in like Santana.

Once the Latina and her girlfriend were out of the room Rachel flipped herself and Quinn "You pinned me"

"I know" Quinn bit her bottom lip as Rachel pinned the girls arms above her head, she lent in to capture those inviting lips, Quinn laughing stopped her

"What's so funny?"

"I can't look into your eyes when they're blue like that"

At that Rachel apologised and sat up again to remove the contacts "I'm proud by the way, you hit me a couple of times there, you found some aggression"

"Well after everything, it's easier to think about something that upsets me, and I hold onto the hope that I'll still be with you once this ordeal is over" she smiled shyly

"I love you" she was still sitting on top of Quinn

"I love you too" she reached up to bring Rachel in for that kiss-

"Really, you were going to do that here" of course Santana had to interrupt

With a sigh Rachel got off of her girlfriend and helped her to stand "Thanks Santana"

"Any time roomy" she smirked before leaving again, Quinn and Rachel a little way behind her

…

"Eclipse! On your left" the Latina followed her order and turned in time to get the target

"Q, B! Move forward on my command!" The short hero yelled over the

"Now!" she yelled over the simulated gun fire noise. The two moved to the next place of cover in the training room in the basement. They continued following Rachel's strict commands in this intense simulated game of Laser tag.

They had trained with real guns, they'd had a couple of sessions on how to fire one correctly and then target practice, but that was easier to do when DarkStar's armoury was re-stocked with staggered shipments from her dad's.

After the training as they were putting the equipment away and Rachel praised them for getting across the room without a casualty or even an injury, which she'd been able to check on the computer the body suits they wore were attached to.

While Rachel read over their stats, Quinn and Brittany remembered something they'd picked up on in the training session

"Rach?" Quinn asked as she peeled the body suit off that she had worn over her clothes. "Why did you call Santana, Eclipse?" she then hung the suit back up with the laser gun in the holster on the wall.

"Oh" Rachel stopped what she was doing "Santana informed me that, she wanted that to be her name when we're actually out fighting crime"

"Sounds dark I guess, like yours Rach. But why did you choose that one?"

"Care to fill that in" Rachel quirked an eyebrow towards the Latina who was helping Brittany out of her body suit, the same way Brittany had helped her out of her own.

"Well" she crossed her arms and stood in her classic power stand pose "When I'm out there fighting the scum, I'll be the last thing they see before their lights go out"

"Pfft" Quinn just burst out laughing after trying so hard to hold it in

Brittany was laughing to "oh Sanny, you're so funny" she patted her girlfriend on the arm before leading them all out the basement

"I don't get what's so funny" ... also she was okay with Rachel laughing at her but not her other friends? Maybe because she saw Rachel as her better in this business, not that she'd ever admit that to anyone, and her friends were her equals. She followed after them "I don't get it"

"I'm sorry San but if Rachel had said that to me I'd be intimidated but, you" Quinn stopped to let out another chuckle "You are just hilarious" Rachel looked a little smug, for once they were getting it, she was the 'professional' here.

"Thanks" the raven haired girl grumbled closing the basement door and locking it behind them

…

"Quinn?" Rachel asked as they lay silently in the dark, tired from all the training that day

"Hmmm?" she moaned sleepily, her head resting against Rachel's

"Do you mind that we're a secret at school?"

Quinn fidgeted next to Rachel "No… why dya' ask?"

"I was just wondering" she would have shrugged if she weren't cuddled up to the girl she loved

"It's okay, I know why we can't say, it's the typical super hero thing" she now sounded more awake "If they find out who you are, they'll hurt me"

"That's right" Rachel replied sadly before kissing the top of her head and holding her tighter "Every thing will be normal, and we can be together, I promise"

…

Rachel was up late another night, a couple of days later. Her stolen headset was helping her tap into no longer secure phone lines between Arc Zero and his men. But she needed more, she needed to go back to her old hacking days, she hadn't been desperate for information in such a long time, but now it was her only option. She had hacked into A Z's security system and… bingo, she'd found the exact camera she needed.

She saw Azimio walk into one of his private office areas, he chucked his head set on the table, which gave her a thought. Using what she'd learnt from the headset she'd already… obtained, she managed to tap into the headset on his desk, linking it to her own as she slipped it on. This way she could hear the conversation too, but they couldn't hear her. She was just in time as two men with a suit case entered the room on camera

"_You got the stuff?"_

"_Yeah, you got the money?"_ The boss asked

The two nameless men slammed the case onto the table and unclipped it to reveal a hefty sum of money 'how cliché' Rachel thought to herself.

Three more men entered the room with a different case. The two visitors checked the contents and once they were satisfied the transaction was made and the visitors left, leaving Azimio and three of his thugs.

"_How's it going Arc?"_

"_This DarkStar shit is really messing with me, I need you to do something 'bout It"_

"_So you gotta plan boss?" _a large dark skinned boy stood with two others either side of him facing their boss's desk

"_Yeah"_ he swayed in his seat _"we're going to get DarkStar's little girlfriend, and if that don't work we'll take her little fan club too"_

"_When do we strike Arc?"_

"_Tomorrow, at lunch we corner little blondie, bring her here… hold her until I get here and we'll wait for that bitch. We'll be waiting" _he hit his fist on the desk _"And I will be the one to unmask her before I put a bullet in her head"_ he took his hand gun out of the top draw and waved it in front of the three men, he stopped, still pointing at the man in the middle _"Bang!"_ he yelled making the three flinched _"Right between the eyes"_ he chuckled evilly _"Then as a reward I might just treat myself to a piece of that fine Fabray ass"_ he sneered his men laughed with him

Rachel gasped, stood from her seat and couldn't help but say out loud:

"Arc Zero dies tonight"

**Let me know what you think…**

**Reviews are really encouraging ,)**


	17. Don't want to say Goodbye

**AN: sorry this is short, but... well you'll see why I wanted to end it there**

**Posted: 5/12/11**

Don't want to say Goodbye

Rachel raced around the DarkStar base, mentally checking things off as she completed tasks

She selected one of the pieces of Body armour from the rack. '_Kevlar vest, check'_

She quickly removed her night wear, luckily still wearing her underwear underneath, then took one of her copies of the DarkStar costume and slipped it on. '_Outfit, check'_

She grabbed her boots. '_Boots, Check'_

She then ran over to the weapons corner, belting 6 knives, 3 on either side of her waist. Then she holstered a SIG on each thigh, with silencers already attached. Each of the two guns had an extra loaded magazine holstered next to them. '_Weapons, Check'_

She grabbed one of her cloaks, slinging it round her shoulders and securing it round her neck with the star shaped Pin. '_Cloak, Check'_

'_Just a last few things to get. Bike keys and Leather gloves, tapped in head set, check'_

And not forgetting: not that anyone knew this but, there was one item she never replaced, despite having spares. '_Lucky mask, check'._ It was very easy to pick out of a pile, it was a little worn and there was some fine stitching on the side, from the night that bullet almost got her in the head.

She wheeled one of her Ninja's to the elevator closet and took it up to the next floor, the garage. She pressed the button opening the garage door, once it was open she quickly hit the button again and pushed the bike out onto the drive way, quickly so the door didn't slide shut on her.

She just had to hope she hadn't woken anyone of her fellow residents. Our hero looked up at her house one last time, the moonlight bouncing off her eyes, she then flicked her hood up

'_My girlfriend and new best friends tucked up safely, where they will stay, Check'_

She continued to push the bike down the road to ensure she wouldn't wake the house up.

…

As she sped towards her destination, she was alone with her thoughts. She had a bad feeling about this one, of course she always had a bad feeling about her 'missions' every time she left that house on one of these bikes in this get up.

This time was different though, she was heading to a confrontation, something more than information or recourses would be taken before the night was over.

Blood would be spilt, a lot of it. This was going to be messy, it would test everything Rachel had to get through this and she knew it.

Death had never scared her before, before now this was just a job and if she died it just meant she'd failed. She wasn't a stranger to death or pain, she'd taken enough lives and limbs, experienced loss and pain, and suffering. She'd seen what these people were capable of, but they should still fear her, hell, the most likely did. I'd be terrified to oppose her, to stand in her way, wouldn't you?

Despite knowing this, despite knowing she had power over them, the power of fear, she was also frightened herself. Not for her own life, she'd faced her death already when her dad's tested her, she was scared for Quinn's if she did fail.

That's what had changed within DarkStar, she now had more than one purpose. Not only was she supposed to take down the scum until her end, she now had Quinn, she had real love and she didn't want to lose it, she had something worth living for. In that basement, in that fake ordeal, she lost her fathers, fathers who let's face it weren't model parents and she faced accepting her own end. But when she pulled the same trick on her associates, they face their ends and losing each other. She didn't experience that… she wasn't prepared to say _good bye_ to Quinn… or even Santana and Brittany

At that moment, minutes away from the warehouse, it hit her. Life had meaning again, like New York, Broadway and Quinn… and a future.

…

She hid her bike near to the future crime scene.

She kept to the shadows as she neared the iron bar fence round this in particular warehouse. '_No wonder I tracked them to this place it's the fort Knox of ware houses' _she thought silently to herself. Pulling both guns out of their holsters, she surveyed the threats in front of her.

'_Five guards by the door, two on the gate, four groups of three circling the building, passing every… 27 seconds… looks like I'm taking them all down… should have bought the sniper'_

How could she be so foolish, she should have been better prepared. It was too late to dwell on that now: Azimio had to die and he had to die tonight.

Raising her guns she pushed off the wall she'd been leaning on and ran straight to the open gate entrance, shooting the two men there in the head, they dropped to the ground, dead before they reached it.

Our cloaked hero was still yet to be detected as she raced toward the building, shooting down the men guarding the door, now the others were alerted to her presence. She threw the gun in her right hand up and whilst it was air born she used her free hand to fling a knife on her right side, straight from the belt to her target, then another knife from her left side. The removal of the knife flowed into the movement of throwing it, there wasn't a second spent In between the two actions. She then caught the gun easily again.

DarkStar quickly fired at 6 of the thugs, after throwing knives to kill two, who'd been patrolling by circling, she took them all down. Now was her chance to reload before the other two patrols came to the front of the building.

She pushed open the heavy front doors to the main floor of the warehouse

"Oh shit!" she muttered under her breath as too many thugs to count waited for her on the other side of the door. She knew Azimio would be in one of the offices at the back. It was too late to turn round, she'd just get a bullet in the back if she did.

Charging forward, squeezing the trigger on her SIG's she made every round count, mostly head shots. Despite the large guns they had, they couldn't compete with her speed and accuracy. She kept firing those guns till they were out of ammunition, she threw the last knives she had, making them count too but now it was too late, and she was surrounded.

"Oh shit" she breathed again as the barrels of several guns were in her face "Shit" she mutter one last time as the but of a gun struck her in the head

…

"Yeah A-Z we got her" Karofsky paced back and forth in the brightly lit room as two thugs dragged DarkStar towards the second in command. They left her on her knees as Karofsky kept pacing "She gave up one hell of a fight but we got her"

She heard a voice on the other end of the line, but she couldn't hear what was being said. She tried to calm her heavy, un-steady breathing and her erratically beating heart that pulsed in her ears "Okay, see you in ten" he snapped his phone shut "The boss is on his way" he informed the armed thugs around them. All their assault rifles were pointed at her, she noted how they'd bought the big guns out just for her.

"You should consider yourself lucky DarkStar" Karofsky continued with a sneer "The boss told us to not touch you until he gets here, he said he's gonna be the one to fire that bullet into your head, after the satisfaction of unmasking you"

She kept her head down and didn't speak, this whole situation was too familiar, only all attention was on her, there was no line up of similarly dressed victims.

"Are you even listening to me!" he got angry and kicked her in the chest, causing her to slouch forward and cough up blood. She could taste it covering the insides of her mouth and dripping down her chin

She felt one of the thugs push her back up, "You shouldn't do that K. A-Z might get mad" he warned before going back to his place, standing with the others

"Oh sure" he scoffed "Like he's going to check the bitch for bruising" he lunged at her causing her to flinch, fortunately her cowering movement satisfied him enough so he didn't strike again, instead he just laughed, a few of the thugs joining in.

It wasn't long before all their ears were met with the distant rumble of an engine, the high windows around the big empty room lit up briefly by headlights as the vehicle turned in the small gravelled yard in front of the ware house. Then there was silence. Rachel swallowed loudly, terrified. How could hse be so stupid?

Finally the doors violently flung open a fair distance behind our nervous hero. She was never nervous, not normally.

"What the hell?" she heard Karofsky question as sets of footsteps colliding with the concrete ground echoed louder as they approached. "I didn't order this, what do you think you're doing?"

DarkStar had no idea what was going on, but she was worried.

"No" Karofsky yelled, she heard all the thugs in hoodies move their guns, "No!" she saw Karofsky take a pistol out of its holster on his belt "NO!" he raised it to fire and he did.

Gun fire rippled in all directions across the vast space in the warehouse, Rachel was sure she was dead.

**Let me know what you think…**


	18. Team DarkStar

**AN: thanks: ****Musicfutbolfan6****, ****TrustInFaith****, ****fatima343****, ****MaJorReader619****, ****BleachBlondeDork****, ****smartblonde317**** (you hit the nail on the head), ****Avardsin****, ****ms-rappy-sleeper****, ****Whiro****, ****FacingFuture ****and ****General Mac**** for reviewing the last chapter, it means a lot right now. I've managed to remind myself how f***ing lucky I am to be alive and healthy and still have my family even if we argue a lot, it doesn't matter, I'm a lucky sod :)**

**AN: to: ****MaJorReader619,**** I kinda know that feeling, it was just over a year ago, we got to the point where we were supposed to send off our applications for Uni and I hadn't even written my personal statement yet, or even picked a subject, I was torn between maths and Graphics… and in the end I realised I didn't actually want to do either, I didn't want to go to Uni at all, my parents wanted it for me, they would have put themselves in debt for me… and it wasn't worth it.**

**I couldn't confront my dad so I wrote him a note instead, it started like this:**

_**Dad**_

_**I'm pregnant**_

_**Not really! Now that you've calmed down about that, I need to tell you I don't want to go to university… **_

**Once he agreed with me I continued at college (like community college I think, where we take equivalent junior and senior year (it's optional here, for now))After that I gave up, failed every exam I did the following June, like real failed: a U grade and I'm now unemployed and useless**

**Enough about me, I guess I just wanted to let you know you're not stupid and you're not gonna fail, what ever happens, as long as you don't end up like me ,)**

**And I wanted to wish you all the best in your application, I know (from a UK sort of perspective) that its not fun :)**

**AN2: Another short chapter sorry :/**

**Posted: 9/12/11**

Team DarkStar

"Santana, Santana wake up"

"Q?" the raven haired girl muttered sleepily as she woke, nudging her girlfriend awake too

"Quinn what's wrong?"

"I just saw Rachel leave, I heard the elevator and when I looked outside I saw her walking down the street pushing one of her motorbikes… in her DarkStar costume" she added when Santana was still looking up at her confused. The last few words woke her up properly

"What, that lying bitch, she said she'd wait a month before attempting anything" the Latina jumped out of bed and stormed out of the room

"San, where are you going?" Brittany called after her kneeling in the middle of the bed

"To find out where that bitch has gone" Santana yelled back

"I guess she wants us to follow her then" Quinn shrugged offering her hand to the girl with the long blonde. Brittany quickly accepted it and the two blondes caught up to the Latina in the Basement. "Santana, how are we going to find her?"

The girl with the dark long hair was standing in front of the computer screen, the paused frame showed Azimio Adams talking to his men "I bet that's where she's gone"

"That's an office, most likely in a warehouse because that's where Rachel says they always do business"

"I gathered that much Q, but when Rachel isn't looking… well I may have been looking through the collection of tech she has, I found she had a tracking device, with a hand written manual"

"She made it?" Quinn asked as Santana started going through one of the locker style cabinets on the wall behind the DarkStar outfit rack

"I think maybe one of her dads did, anyway I figured out how to use it and put tracers on all her bikes" Santana shrugged before pulling out a device "Now if I read correctly I can hook this up to the computer" moments later Santana had the tracking device working, a map of the area, 3 tracers were positioned on the street where the Berry house resided and another moving further away and stopping, pin pointing in between two buildings "There you are"

"That's where she's left the bike though… where do you think she's gone after that?"

"Well, you said warehouse, right?" Brittany asked stepping up to the computer "So maybe here?" she pointed to the obvious oblong building about 600 meters from where the bike had been left

"Way to go Britt" Santana quickly kissed her girl on the cheek and opened a new window on the computer

"What are you doing now?" Quinn asked anxiously

"I'm going to see if I've mastered this hacking thing yet"

"Rachel only gave us a one hour lecture" Quinn again spoke up. She wanted to point out just how inexperienced they were so she didn't get her hopes up

"I can still try, I'm going to see if- Aha! I'm in" the other two lent in, looking over both her shoulders, and amazed she'd hacked it that quickly "it's the security cameras at that Warehouse… shit Azimio's leaving before Rachel's there… shit more of his men are arriving"

"What do we do San?" Brittany asked first, Quinn just stared at the screen with worry.

"Q, sort out some guns for us, Britt with me, we'll check the bikes, do you think you can handle one?"

"I think so, San. It's just like a more powerful dirt bike right?"

"Yeah, think of it like that Britt" they started towards the underground garage but Quinn was still rooted to her spot "Q?" she was still staring at the screen "Q!" that woke her, she shot her gaze straight to her two best friends, tears brimming her eyes

"I can't lose her" she whispered "I just can't" reality had hit her once again and her breathing became heavy and erratic

Brittany and Santana caught her before she could fall to the ground during her sudden short panic attack "We're going after her Q, we're going to help her, before anything bad happens" They rocked her until her breathing calmed

After a few minutes they picked her up "B, can you look over the bikes, we'll need at least two, Q and I will sort out weapons then we'll get changed into copies of the DarkStar outfit. We're going to prove to her we are ready"

"It's been three weeks" Quinn muttered as she was helped to stand again "thanks"

"Rachel must have left for a damn good reason, you don't go killing people with two injured legs for no reason" Santana assumed

"I think she wants to end this, so we don't have to, she checks every day if we're sure we want this" Quinn pointed out, making sure her breathing was steady again "Guns?" she asked Santana

Santana managed a small smile, Quinn was still on board. Quinn was the strongest – well second strongest person she knew, after DarkStar. If Quinn who was good at hiding her emotions was having trouble, them this really was a big deal "Yeah, we better get ready"

"The two Ninja's are working fine" Brittany yelled from the far corner

"Great work B" she then turned to Quinn "Are you okay to ride pillion with Britt, to get there?"

"I'll be fine" she assured her friend, as she attached a silencer to a pistol, exactly how Rachel had taught her.

…

Two cloaked blondes on one black Kawasaki Ninja, a Latina on another, all in DarkStar outfits, as they sped through the night. When they got to the warehouse the three immediately shot through the open gates, Eclipse drew one gun as the bike skidded to a halt, Q did the same over B's shoulder, the two fired their silenced weapons at the eight thugs guarding the door sending them to join the men that Rachel had shot in their places not long before.

As they all climbed off the bikes Eclipse gave the orders to grab the fallen men's weapons to use for themselves. They checked the guns to make sure they were loaded to full capacity, luckily they were, Arc Zero wasn't one to skimp on ammo for his men. Once they were ready they burst through the door, the assault rifles hidden behind their backs underneath their cloaks, they all saw DarkStar on her knees in front of them, her hands bound behind her with a cable tie, like that time before "What the hell?" they saw DarkStar tense up as Karofsky's voice rang out across the room and they marched closer

"I didn't order this what are you doing?" they stopped, Eclipse in the middle, Q on her left and B on her right, they all bought out the assault rifles from behind their backs "No" they raised the guns and aimed them at the 30 or so, armed thugs around the room "No!" they witnessed Karofsky grab his hand gun, "NO!" they opened fire, with scary accuracy.

.

Soon all the thugs were dead in pools of their own blood, except Karofsky who was just struggling on the floor, with a leg injury.

Q was soon by DarkStar's side "DarkStar" she whispered causing the uncharacteristically nervous girl to jump "It's okay, we've got you" she cut the cable tie from the Hero's wrist and helped her to stand, Eclipse strutted past them, B following. She kicked Karofsky's gun that he'd just reloaded, out of his hands

"Say goodnight" her voice was so dark

"Eclipse no!" at least DarkStar had remembered to control her mouth, by not calling Santana by her real name. Despite her loud protest Eclipse still shot a struggling, un armed Karofsky in the head. "What have you done?" she exclaimed

Eclipse just furrowed her brow, completely confused- she was just doing what she'd been trained to do, right?

"We haven't got time for this, lets go" B said, dragging Eclipsed back out to the bikes, Q dragging DarkStar. The ride home was silent, they were just focusing on getting away alive. Q rode pillion with DarkStar, Eclipse pillion with B.

…

When they got back Rachel didn't say a word, she wasn't angry or sad or relieved or thankful. In fact her expression wasn't readable "I'll talk to you all in the morning" she announced after changing out of her DarkStar outfit down to her underwear, thinking nothing of it. She grabbed her pyjama's she' left in the basement when she got changed earlier "And I'll need to get my bike" she muttered before heading up stairs

Moments later, once Rachel was out of the room, Quinn had just finished removing the DarkStar outfit too, she grabbed her pyjamas like Rachel had and slipped them on as she tried to catch up

"Did we do bad San?" Brittany asked looking to her girlfriend for help

"I-I don't know Britt. Lets just try and go to bed, get some sleep. Like Rachel said, we'll all talk in the morning" she led Brittany to their bedroom. Santana was actually worried for what scolding she might get from her newest friend in the morning.

…

"Rachel what happened tonight?" the short haired blonde moved closer to the bed, sitting on the edge behind the curled up brunette "The DarkStar I know wouldn't charge head first into danger like that" At Quinn's statement Rachel's small vulnerable body started shaking "Rachel? What's wrong? You can tell me"

The brunette rolled over, her eyes red and watery "He said things Quinn, he's going to take you away from me, he said he'd do things to you and I wouldn't be able to stop him"

"How do you know this, did they tell you?"

"No" she sniffed "I overheard when I tapped in on the head set" she sobbed "The things he said" all of a sudden she was gritting her teeth while the tears still spilt "they were so vulgar, I'm sorry" now her expression softened again. Surely this was evidence that something had really messed this girl up "I just can't let anything happen to you"

Quinn settled down next to her girlfriend, she climbed in under the sheets and wrapped her arms round the other girl. Rachel settled her head under Quinn's chin, feeling warm and protected

"I was racing there and it all hit me Quinn, I can't lose you. I know it might be crazy, it's only been a little over three weeks of our secret dating, but I need you. I want us to be together, for a long, long time" her rambling clamed as Quinn rubbed Rachel's back soothingly "I love you Quinn"

"I love you too Rachel" she replied instantaneously.

"I can't let them take you away from me, I need you. You might not realise it but you keep me sane"

"I thought I caused trouble" Quinn chuckled ever so lightly.

"A little bit, but it just made me realise how strong my feelings for you were earlier. You're there for me and you're there for DarkStar. Thank you"

"You don't need to thank me, I need to thank you, for saving me all those times" she kept her voice soft, her hands still moving on Rachel's back as she felt the brunettes warm breath on her neck

"You saved me, tonight you all saved me, but you reminded me that there's more to life than killing people" she sighed. After a moment of quiet leaving them alone with their own thoughts Rachel started worrying again "I'm not letting you out of this house without me until this is over, they can't take you Quinn, they can't-"

"No Rachel, they aren't going to take me away from you, you know why? Because I've got you, and you've got me and I can defend myself too, because you taught me, and I'm net letting those bastards force us apart. They're messing with the wrong teenage girls" Rachel chuckled into Quinn's neck, she pulled back just a little to look at Quinn properly "We've got something stronger, better and more dangerous than what they have"

"Santana?" Rachel asked with a smile

"Good one" Quinn chuckled, squeezing the brunette closer "No, we have love, we have each other"

"You know, that made you sound a bit soft" Rachel teased running a finger along Quinn's collar bone

"It's what you do to me"

"I find that hard to believe" Rachel scoffed

"Well it's true, I haven't felt this before" her voice soft and honest

"Are you sure, you're not just high off adrenaline from tonight?" the brunette questioned, evidently getting sleepier as she cuddled into her girlfriends embrace.

"I'm very sure. Yes the experience was liberating, I'm sure I'll find the situation different in the morning, but I don't want to dwell on what I did this evening too much, I'd like to get a good nights sleep before then"

Rachel kissed the exposed skin on Quinn's shoulder "I'll be here for you, when ever, I love you Quinn. Remember these things"

"I will Rach, I love you too"

With those words said, and much to dwell on in the morning, they slipped into a peaceful sleep, possibly the last one for a while.

**Let me know what you think...**


	19. Then there were four

**AN: Thanks to, ****BleachedBlondeDork****, ****MaJorReader619****, ****TrustInFaith****, ****cash****, ****G-DiP****, ****FacingFuture****, ****KizBitz****, ****General Mac****, ****smartblonde317****, ****Pratty2005****, ****WhatHurtsMeMost****, ****SuperCaliBoy**** and ****Cassicio**** for reviewing the last chapter, and everyone who read it :)**

**AN: To: ****MaJorReader619****, thank you for your kind words, and good luck with everything yourself, and I never considered living in the UK, cool… it's okay I guess…any who I think living anywhere in the USA could be so much cooler ,) I've found it really interesting learning differences between American English and English English though. **

**AN: To: ****KizBitz****: Thank you for your kind words and I'm sorry your GCSE's aren't going well, I hope it can get better, I managed to get by in mine. I was distracted through most of mine, always had some song stuck in my head lol. Although I was paranoid in my 10 hour art exam… I fainted in the mock lmao! And was really ill for a week making me miss 8 other mock exams (I couldn't stand up, I was so dizzy) lol. When it came to the real Art exam, they put me next to the door so I could get fresh air when I needed it (turned out that door was locked through out the entire exam so fat lot of good that did lol) and they sat an invigilator next to my desk to keep an eye on me. In the end, instead of me collapsing my final piece sculpture did… 8 hours into the exam! So yeah that embarrassing moment was stuck in my head, it's a miracle I passed. I hope everything goes better for you! **

**AN: To: ****Cassicio****: happy birthday, for the other day!**

**AN: Thanks to ****G-DiP****, ****FacingFuture**** and ****SuperCaliBoy ****for the final Name suggestions. (and thanks, MeggyMoo12 and sexyoutlaw for your suggestions earlier!) I considered all of them and really like all of them, they were way better than my original ones- so thank you. After a PM from Facing Future and then some research on one of the names and using the other one given, I've decided… **

**AN: I'm in an oddly good mood… maybe it has something to do with my dad being in jersey for work for three days!**

**Sorry for the long AN's**

**Posted: 14/12/11**

Then there were four

Rachel was the first to wake the next morning, she carefully removed herself from her girlfriend's embrace and headed straight downstairs to prepare a line up of water, painkillers, coffee and pancakes. She knew they'd be feeling pain after last night. They would have most definitely got hit by a few of the flying bullets last night. As no one had come to her in the middle of the night, discovering they were bleeding she assumed their bullet proof vests would have taken the hits. At the close range the guns were fired at, the three newbies would most likely wake to bruises where the rounds did hit.

She heard movement upstairs as she started cooking, by the time she had 4 plates ready Santana was sleepily make her presence known to the shorter brunette with a yawn. Rachel turned when she heard her "How are you feeling?" she asked softly as she put a plate in front of the Latina, as she took a seat at the breakfast bar

"Ouch" she muttered her answer.

"Bruising?"

"Yeah, I checked in the shower, my ribs are really sore" she groaned, supporting her head with one of her hands "Thanks" she then muttered as Rachel placed coffee, water, and painkillers in front of her

"They might help a little. Do you think anything's broken?"

"Nah, I don't think it's that bad" she sat up properly

"And how are you doing, psychologically?"

"I don't know" she tossed the painkillers back and chased them with water, slamming the glass back down on the surface and staring at it, she continued "I guess when it all happened I didn't think about it… why did you try to stop me?" she finally met Rachel's gaze with a furrowed brow

"I wanted to be the one to kill Karofsky-"

"I'm sorry-"

"No! It wasn't a revenge thing, I wanted to kill him so none of you had to. We know him, knew him" Rachel corrected in a quieter voice "I mean, you all killed last night, but you didn't know them, or even recognise them if we did know them… but Karofsky was our class mate despite everything… you dated him for prom last year"

"I was using him" Santana admitted

"Well I guessed that" Rachel wasn't an idiot

"I didn't know what he was" The taller girl mumbled her defence as she stabbed at her food

"I figured that too" she smiled sadly "So how do you feel now?"

"I don't know, I guess anxious… I know that doesn't make sense, but I feel like I'm waiting for something, like the calm before the storm"

"That's exactly where we are Santana, Azimio's going to be majorly pissed. Well what would you expect, if your right hand man tells you his nemesis has been captured and when he shows up, 30 of his men and his best friend are dead and DarkStar is no where to be seen"

"You're not helping" Santana moaned back, holding her head again and using a fork to play with the food on her plate

"Just, try and stay calm for now okay?" Santana nodded "besides, he won't know you exist. I blocked the cameras from recording, only my computer had access and there was no other evidence"

They were silent for a little longer, they could hear to separate people, moving around upstairs, going through their own morning routines. Rachel was the only one who hadn't bothered getting changed yet.

"Rachel?" the brunette she wasn't sure Santana had ever sounded so weak "Does it go away?"

Rachel turned to her friend, she was worried when she saw the look of fear in the Latina's eye "Does what go away?" she took Santana's hand that was now resting on top of the kitchen counter surface. Her breakfast abandoned

"His eyes, I can still see them. When I pulled the trigger, his eyes… the shock, the life fading from them…" she wiped a single tear that had escaped and was rolling down her cheek

"Honestly, not really. It fades but the memory will always be there. The more you kill the less effect it has on you… then you just become a messed up loon, like me" she offered with a slight smile which Santana managed to return "We're going to end this, soon… really soon Santana and then I'm going to help you all through this" she patted the Latinas hand as she released it

"Is everything okay?" Brittany asked as she skipped into the room

'Thank you' Santana mouthed to the short brunette opposite before composing herself for her girlfriend "Everything's fine Britt"

"Then why were you so restless last night?" Before Santana could make up other excuses the last member of the group joined them

"Rachel, you're not dressed yet!" Quinn exclaimed "We have to leave in 10 minutes"

"We're not going to school today" she said abruptly, as she passed the two new comers their breakfast

"What?" the other three in the room asked in unison, secretly happy they wouldn't be going in

"Azimio was going to take you today" she said that part to Quinn "That was his plan, and after what happened last night, he'll definitely go through with it. So none of you are leaving this house-"

"That's not fair!" Brittany yelled, surprisingly "You were really sneaky last night Rach, trying to do all this by yourself and it went wrong. We've done what you were trying to shield us from, it's too late now, we're involved and we're not backing down" Santana slipped her arms round her girlfriend who was now standing next to her and sat her down. She then quickly kissed her cheek, she was proud of her, in this strange situation.

"Thank you Brittany" Rachel said calmly "but you did cut me off there. I understand what you did last night and I'm extremely thankful for your rescue. I also understand that this is it now, you're all involved, so we need to end this soon." She then turned her attention to just the two blondes "How are you both this morning?"

"A little shaky I guess. I don't think it's quite set in just yet" Quinn shrugged

"Yeah I mean, it was scary and the images flash in my head every now and then but it's still a little hazy" Brittany added

"When you want to talk about it, I'm here for all of you, okay?" she said delicately. They both just nodded in understanding "Okay then" she took a breath "Now" her tone became abrupt "We have something else to talk about, you three may have saved me, but I'm a bit pissed" they all looked at her worried, like children being told off by a parent "You wore my outfit, it didn't even fit any of you properly. The leather bottoms were too short, actually it was all too short!" she now stood with her hands on her hips "I'm so disappointed that you felt like you could just use my things like that. I mean you have a right to the tech, guns and knives, but not my outfit" They all looked to the floor "Especially when I took the time to make you, all your own" Santana, Brittany and Quinn in turn, all looked up at her with furrowed brows "Follow me" she commanded. The original hero led her crime fighting companions to the basement, she scanned her thumb transforming the basement into the base. She walked round behind the bar and scanned her hand against a seemingly plain area of the wall, this allowed a panel to slide to the side revealing a rack with three outfits hanging from it.

"You made us outfits?" Quinn asked shyly

"Of course I did, I wasn't going to let you dress like me… blacks my colour" she passed them out. The outfits were the same style as DarkStar's but different colours and with different insignias on them. They all had matching black cloaks and eye masks and Kevlar vests were already on the hanger too.

She handed Santana hers. The leather had been dyed navy blue, the symbol on the chest was of a new moon, in white. She was soon getting changed then and there to try it on.

Rachel then handed Brittany, her outfit, it was dark purple. The symbol on the front was like the flare round the sun with the middle blacked out, like an image of the sun being blocked out by the moon. Brittany snatched it with a thank you, making Rachel chuckle, as she started changing quickly.

She then turned to Quinn, handing her, her outfit. The leather had been dyed a dark red, the insignia, was of a detailed grey image of the moon. It included some of the craters and lines that were obvious on the real moon. The print was so detailed, Rachel had put more effort into this one than her own.

Quinn just held the costume with care studying the detail of the insignia, she looked up to Rachel but before she could say anything Santana jumped in "Hell, Berry, these fit too well. How did you do it?"

"I measured you all while you slept" she said in a serious yet innocent tone. The other three girls in the room paused what they were doing and turned to her with concerned looks. She burst out laughing "Not really, don't worry. I compared it with some of your other clothes, when I was folding laundry last week end"

"It's Friday, so you did this in 4 days?" Santana asked disbelieving

"Yeah, well I had the designs and the material I just need to assemble them" She then pointed to Quinn's which she was still holding "shall I explain the symbols and your names"

"You've given us names?"

"Well, me and San were talking, we thought of one for each of you, I hope you don't mind"

"Of course not. I didn't think of anything myself"

"So am I not gunna be the Duck Knight like I thought" Brittany almost pouted, she'd been thinking for a while and that was the weird name she'd come up with

"Not quite Britt, although we did think of feather wing" Santana, dressed as eclipse, explained "But then Rachel said we should keep our names to a theme, seeing as mine already worked for hers."

"Well for Brittany" Rachel started to explain, while Quinn started trying her outfit on "we thought about how, you're the best of Santana, you're both so opposite one another but you work so well together. So with all that in mind we thought about the light you still can see when there is a total eclipse. I researched it and found out it has various names, but it comes down to Corona, meaning Halo. So your name Brittany, is Halo" she smiled "Are you okay with that?"

"I love it!" she squealed, she then turned and hugged her girlfriend tightly "Our names link San!"

"I know Britt" she smiled brightly, happy her girl wasn't disappointed it wasn't a duck related name like she had discussed with Santana weeks ago

"What about this, its an image of the moon?" Quinn asked, talking about her symbol before she slipped the leather vest over the bullet resistant one

"Well that runs with the theme of San's and Britt's… seeing as you three are kinda my sidekicks. But it has other meanings too"

"Ugh, they're gonna get mushy" Santana groaned playfully, dragging Brittany to the sofa area to give the other tow a moment and to talk about their new costumes.

Quinn was putting the cloak and eye mask on before Rachel started to continue her explanation

"Well, your name is MoonShadow"

"MoonShadow?" Quinn echoed

"Uh-huh, you see, it runs with Eclipse and Halo because it's the moon that blocks the light making a shadow. But also, I work in the Dark, right? or well we work at night. The moon is the natural light that guides us. You guide me Quinn, and the moon keeps the earth stable, it supports the earth, you keep me stable, you keep me supported. The shadow part was to do with the mystery, I love you so much and yet I still feel like I hardly know you, once this is over, well have time to share these things… I'm sorry I wanted that to sound more romantic I guess it didn't quite sound how I wanted-" she was cut off by Quinn's soft perfect lips

"I get it" she murmured as she pulled away "I'm your big, reflective, mysterious rock"

"In a manner of speaking, yeah" she said shyly "Do you like the name?"

"You chose it, I love the reasons behind it, I love it… and I love you" Rachel couldn't help the over the top grin that crept its way onto her lips before Quinn's own lips could.

The Brunette reached forward and bought MoonShadow's hood up to cover her head "I love you in this cloak" Rachel smirked "It reminds me of our first voluntary kiss… although you didn't know you were kissing me"

"I hoped it was you" she confessed "something deep inside me, in my dreams wanted it to be you" she kissed Rachel, softly and simply, not going further with spectators in the room

"Oh my god! Our colours are nearly like the teenage mutant ninja turtles eye masks. Only Rachel needs to change to orange" Brittany pointed out excitedly, breaking them from their soft blissful scene, Rachel turned her back to Quinn to face the others.

"Ah, no way" Rachel said lowly "Black is my colour, I'm sticking to it. Orange? No, no way" she muttered

"Oh, but then we'd match" Brittany whined

"Yeah Berry" Santana teased, knowing it was hard for many to say no to Britt

"Yeah, Rach" Quinn joined it, wrapping her arms round the girls middle

"I'm not making myself a new outfit. And there is no way I'm ever wearing orange" she turned in her leather clad girlfriends arms and pushed the hood of the cloak back

"But Rach, you'd look so hot" Quinn purred

"Yeah Berry" Santana interrupted their attempt at a playful moment "You'd look like you're on fire and surely you'd match Quinn's outfit better"

Rachel rolled her eyes "DarkStar wears black, that's final" she glared at the Latina for joining in and encouraging Quinn to do the same. She dropped a quick kiss to Quinn's lips, much to the blonde's disappointment that it didn't last longer, and sighed "Right, you all need to get changed, back into your normal clothes"

"Why?" Santana asked the dreaded one word question

"I'm going to get dressed, then I'm going out" she said grabbing some clothes she kept in the basement, a hoody, t-shirt and jeans.

"But if we're not allowed out, why are you?" Brittany asked

"You're going to stay down here and stay quiet. I need to get something" she finished getting dressed

"What?" Brittany asked

"We need a vehicle for tonight" she moved over to the cupboards filled with gadgets, taking out the remote camera blocking wrist watch device.

"Tonight?" Quinn sounded a little worried

"It ends tonight, for real this time. I'm going to get us a vehicle, we'll kit it out and head out tonight. We end this before anyone else gets hurt" she left them in the basement, and ventured out onto the busy morning streets.

**Let me know what you think…**

**Thanks ****FacingFuture****, you get all the credit for the names and reasons, I liked corona but like I said I was hesitant so I researched it and found halo. And you named Quinn, so thank you so much for your help. I didn't want to put this at the beginning in case it gave it away. Thank you again! **


	20. It's a Land Rover

**AN: sorry it's been a while**

**AN: As this is nearing the end, I thought I'd jsut thank each reviewer now personally (although I will list everyone who reviewed, favourite-d and alerted this in the last chapter :) as I really want to thank you all... it helps me lately, with confidence and... stuff)**

**MaJorReader619****, I wouldn't say American English is a language for idiots :S most of the time it just seems like a censored version of English English, like we say titbit, in America it was changed to tidbit, we say Arse and Ass is just donkey, I could go on... the only one I've found that's sort of the other way round is, over here a fanny is not a backside... it's... something else. Normally if an American uses the word fanny over here they'll have a few people snigger (because we know what they mean, they just don't realise how we've heard it) and then one person will explain... if you don't know I'll let you look it up lol. There's loads of American-to-British dictionaries online :) other times it's as if a game of Chinese whispers was played between the countries and things in America turned out a little different... like a pint is smaller in the USA *shrug*. Also the differences in food, like what you call fries we all chips, and what you call chips we call crisps. :S And one more, I just realised how a slang phrase like "I could murder a fag" must sound really offensive, but the corner of the country I come from that's just slang for "I really need a cigarette" yeah, fag is slang for a cigarette although it's still a highly offensive term for a homosexual... :/**

**BleachedBlondeDork****, thank you, hope you like what I decided on in this chapter**

**Lileyeyama****, here you go again, thanks for the review, sorry it took a while**

**smartblonde317****, lol I thought of three Cheerio's and a Berry but it sounded like someone with an eating disorders breakfast :/**

**TrustInFaith****, thanks, hope you like this**

**Musicfutbolfan6****, Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. Hope this is okay, just short filler really**

**FacingFuture****, I really loved your name ideas so thanks.. I didn't think about that for Halo thought lol, although I do have the song moon shadow start up in my head whenever I type/read that name lol, my dad is a big Cat Stevens fan :S and yes, the glee club will be talking about the whole thing in a couple of chapters time ,)**

**General Mac****, thanks, here's what you requested, hope it's not too boring**

**Anexsis Hirotomi****, probably the same reason I write glee action fics lol ,) and I believe someone will get hurt yes ,) **

**- Thanks for your reviews!**

**Posted: 30/12/11**

It's an SUV

Santana sat slouched on the sofa, one leg hanging down, her foot tapping against the coffee table leg. Brittany was lying partially on top of her, face down, her head resting on the Latina's chest, as she trailed a pattern with the tip of her finger over the Latina's exposed bicep. Santana started running her fingers through her girlfriend's thick blonde locks.

While these two relaxed, waiting for Rachel's return, Quinn was flicking through all the channels on the television, mounted on the wall. It had taken her forever to find the regular television function on it in the first place seeing as it was one of Rachel's computer screens.

She didn't like waiting for Rachel, it made her anxious, so she kept herself busy. She finally found something to watch that got her attention

"Um... Santana? You need to see this" she called without removing her gaze from the screen.

"What is it?" she heard her friend sigh as she carefully removed Brittany from her front, both girls instantly missing the simple contact, and lazily strolled to the other blondes side.

As soon as her eyes met the report in front of her, they widened "Turn it up"

Quinn increased the volume in time to hear what the news reporter had to say _"... The bodies of 37 youths and young adults were found last night, it is believed to be another execution carried out by DarkStar. 3 of the bodies are confirmed to be students of William McKinley high school, here in Lima. One of those murdered has been named as David Karofsky. His father spoke to us early this morning"_

The screen cut to a different scene, Karofsky's father stood next to his wife and his young daughter, in front of their home in the more expensive area of the Lima residential district. Reporters stood in front of him holding out microphones as he read from a piece of paper, snivelling _"What has been done, not only to our son but to the others this passing night, is un just. We do not know why our David was taken to that place, and executed so brutally with his class mates but this menace must be stopped. I hope I am right to put this family's faith in the Lima Police force to final bring this evil to justice. Lima was a safe, sound town before this DarkStar came along, and it's too late for our son" _he racked in a sob as his wife looped an arm through his and cried into his bicep _"But it's not too late for everyone else. She must be stopped"_

It cut back to the female news reporter in her early 30's with shoulder length red hair, continued the report _"The families of the two other deceased students did not want to release the names yet..."_

"Turn it off" Santana demanded, when Quinn looked at her, not actually hearing what the Latina had said, due to being distracted by the news report she repeated "Turn it off" she ended up grabbing the remote before Quinn could react anyway

"Sorry" Quinn muttered

"I killed Karofsky" Santana said not meeting anyone's eyes, she just stared at the now black screen "We killed those people, yet its Rachel who's going to take the shit for it" she sighed "No one will know we exist, she'll take all the blame. And even if she stops they might look for her" she pondered other inner thoughts "there's got to be evidence around here, maybe some old recordings-"

She stopped rambling to herself when they all heard a crash and the grumble of an engine. Then an all together stop... and suddenly the sound of grinding metal, as the ground shook. They ran to training room which was where the sound was coming from, in time to see a section of the ceiling lowering, some dirt and debris fell into the room as a car on a platform was lowered to the basement in front of them. The car drove forward off the platform so it could return to the ceiling.

"So?" Rachel asked hopping down from the passenger seat, out of the car "What do you think?" she gestured to the car

The three stunned girls just stared at her "H-how the hell did you get that down here?" Quinn gestured to the car as the ceiling panel closed loudly above them

"What?" Rachel furrowed her brow, looked up then to the car then back to the other girls "Oh. The patio in the garden is a lift to get large equipment down here, hasn't been used for a while so it was a bit rusty but still works. What do you think of the car then?" she patted the hood

"It's an SUV" Santana deadpanned "I was imagining a tank"

"It's a Land Rover discovery, with a V8 engine, its power full, and I have a lot of material's and my motor bike that I left behind last night in the back, we can modify it" she walked round to the back door of the car, gesturing for the others to follow her, she opened the car

"How did you get this?" Santana looked at all the equipment, there were rolls of expensive Kevlar material, the seats were gone replaced with rally car seats just thrown in the back on top of DarkStar's missing motor bike along with several boxes and cases

"Don't worry about that?" she smirked to her self

2 hours ago

Rachel, in no disguise, no protection walked straight towards her targeted warehouse, she'd been keeping tabs on this one. Checking the movements surrounding it' she believed Azimio thought this one was his main storage facility, she also knew he didn't draw attention to it and after the events of the previous night, it would most likely be either, swarming with Arc Zero's thugs, or it would be a ghost town. She hoped as the area might be surrounded by police, due to the latest crime scene not being much further away it would more likely be the second thing.

As she strolled through the gates constantly checking over her shoulders, her hands tucked into her jean pockets, she was relieved to find it was empty. She pulled a pair of gloves out of her hoody pockets and slipped them on, continuously checking around her. She then took out her lock picks and got to work opening the door.

Once inside she spotted a couple of thugs in a small office room to the side of the simple building, she kept quiet as she could, ducking between the many vehicles on the warehouse floor, spotting the one she wanted, luckily right in front of one of the garage style doors.

She used the lock picks again to open a box attached to the wall full of car keys, '_how cliché'_ she thought to herself

Gathering what she needed and planting a note where she'd taken the car keys she silently loaded up the car.

When she rewired the garage door so she could open it, she managed to accidentally got herself a little electric shock, she also managed to set the alarms off. It wasn't her initial plan but it worked just as well, she was going to alert the thugs to her presents when she sped out of the place but this would have to do

She ran to the car and tore out of there leaving the not so vigilant guards confused. There was one thing she needed them to see.

"What just happened?" the shorter of the pair asked the other

"I think Arc is going to kill us" the other muttered, seeing the note hooked on the peg

_Tell Arc Zero,_

_This ends tonight_

_Where K's life ended_

_01:00_

Rachel had a little private celebration as she got away, not a single casualty and she got away with everything she needed.

She stopped on her way home to collect her DarkStar motor bike

...

Present

The group had started the modifications to the car, the bike had been put back in storage, with a small comment from Rachel on how the other girls were to 'never touch her babies again'

They stripped the panels off the doors and used the Kevlar material as a lining inside to help make the car bullet resistant. They would also be equipping the car to sit the three girls in the back, in the lightweight rally car seats, facing in different directions, they would be firing various assault rifles and machine guns from the car, this was not going to be a stealthy attack, the enemy would know when they arrived.

Quinn and Brittany had been sent to the other room to assemble the new weapons that were still in parts in their boxes, the ones Rachel had just taken from Arc Zero's gold mine.

"Rachel, I was thinking, maybe we could plant some evidence tonight" Santana said from inside the car as she attached the seat to the floor but so that it was still manoeuvrable inside the car "I realised, there's no way to clear the DarkStar name but we could plant the evidence to make people understand why what was done, was done"

"I like that idea Santana" she smiled slightly "I'm glad some of us our thinking more, long term about this..." she looked over her shoulder to make sure Quinn and Brittany weren't there "after hearing what he said he'd do to Quinn, I can only think of killing him before he hurts any of you" she refitted the door panel after lining it with Kevlar in an attempt to protect them from the gunfire they would face

"I had an idea too, Quinn just helped me with it" Brittany walked in, holding a folded sheet, Quinn close behind the taller blonde

'_So much for hoping she didn't hear me'_ she sighed internally and shared a look with Santana meaning she was thinking the same thing

She opened the sheet with Quinn's help "We thought we could leave this when we're done tonight, so they know you weren't alone" Quinn explained. The white sheet had a giant black star in the middle with a red moon, purple sun halo, and a dark blue crescent moon "It's all of us, we want people to know you're not alone, and that its okay to support things that higher authorities don't" Quinn was starting to sound a little like Rachel with too many word

"It's okay to be a rebel" Brittany simplified, see she wasn't stupid, she got what Quinn was trying to explain

"I love your ideas, all of them... you're kinda making me wish I'd recruited you guys earlier" she took Quinn in her arms "only kinda thought" she chuckled, rubbing her nose against Quinn's affectionately and not noticing Santana scooping her own girlfriend up "I love you"

"I love you too" Quinn replied softly, they seemed to let themselves momentarily forgetting what awaited them that night, they just melted into each other's arms in the moment and connected their lips in a way that was going to distract them for the next twenty minutes or so.

...

As Rachel lay in her bed spooning her girlfriend, trying to get a few last hours sleep before the final showdown, she couldn't help but let her mind wander. How exactly would things plan out after Azimio's death? Even after planting the evidence, evidence that wouldn't justify anything DarkStar had done but it would explain her violent actions. How could life really return to normal... could it ever just be her and Quinn and a lifetime of happiness together.

Quinn had managed to fall asleep after her mind had rambled on with thoughts of the more immediate future, she had already taken life, she could do it again... for love, for hope and for her future with Rachel... and for her friends.

Rachel just admired the beautiful blonde who turned in Rachel's arms in her sleep. The blonde nuzzled her face into her girlfriend's neck, causing Rachel to just smile.

The original hero then heard her bedroom door open then click closed behind her, and the edge of the bed dip down behind her

"Can we join you?" was whispered

The shorter brunette looked behind her to see both Santana and Brittany hand in hand

"Sure" she whispered her reply, whilst trying to carefully shuffle herself and Quinn over

"What's going on?" Quinn murmured sleepily as she woke

"We've got some visitors" she whispered with a chuckle, moving herself and Quinn over to one side of the bed. Quinn looked over her girlfriends shoulder to see a very tired looking Santana and sad looking Brittany. The two visitors climbed in behind the smaller brunette who held Quinn in front of her, her left arm wrapped round the taller girl.

"Brittany couldn't sleep" Santana made excuses

"Because San was crying" the blonde let slip, much to her girlfriend's embarrassment

Rachel just smiled to herself as she felt Brittany lay behind her and press her front into the heroes back, she then felt a hand on her hip, reaching for her own, she slipped her right hand out from between her body and Quinn's and held the hand, realising it was Santana's. The three newbies took comfort in knowing Rachel was there for them while they tried to sleep through their worries and recent horrific memories.

They be up in a few hours, ending this ordeal

**Okay sorry for the filler, there's the final ****real**** chapter next then probably the epilogue/aftermath over two more after that. **

**Let me know what you think...**


	21. Say Goodnight

**AN: Thank yous to all of you**

**TrustInFaith: you're idea from a while back is in this chapter :) and it has a big effect on the ending so... well you'll have to read and see what you think by the end of the chapter :/ and I won't be doing faberrittana, I don't really like that, I like that they each have one that they belong too (but I have nothing against it either... plus its kinda late in the story seeing as its nearly finished :/ ) **

**MaJorReader619: I'm glad you liked the ending of the last chapter, with all the peril and stuff I thought it'd be nice if they had a moment, also it showed that the killing of Karofsky really did effect Santana *shrug*... tell me what you think of this chapter**

**Monichanz: hope this isn't too disappointing (the end of AZ), and I'm going to try and end this as tidily as possible (over the next few chapter, with their feeling s and stuff)**

**Musicfutbolfan6: Sorry for leaving you hanging ,) although I don't know if you really want this chapter as it brings the main story to a close ,D, and thanks for the offer to talk :)**

**FacingFuture: that's okay, thanks for the review anyway. And we'll see that not all things go according to plan over the next couple of chapters**

**BleachedBlondeDork: thanks I'm glad you appreciated the filler chapter, let me know what you think of this one**

**smartblonde317: I agree lol, shame she didn't take advantage ,)**

**General Mac: Thanks for reviewing, here you go!**

**Cassicio: glad you were okay with the filler, here's the catalyst for the whole ending :)**

**Thanks all who reviewed... and read and everything else... on with the chapter**

**Posted: 2/1/12**

Say Goodnight

On the verge of the consciousness, our original hero felt the softest and yet most wonderful sensation against her lips, she felt her body and mind hum at the pressure "Time to get up sleeping beauty" was whispered near her ear after losing that joyous contact. She opened her eyes and made out the most beautiful pair looking back at her in the dark room. The only light from the full moon that shone brightly through the window, with the curtains drawn open. "I turned the alarm clock off, I wanted to wake you up like this" the blonde smiled before dropping another kiss to her girlfriend's lips

"What about these two?" Rachel playfully whispered with a gesture over her shoulder

"I'm not kissing them" Quinn scrunched up her nose but then let out a little laugh

"What's going on?" they heard a raspy voice from the other side of the bed

"It's midnight, it's time to get up" Rachel replied to Santana. The Latina lay back down and slipped her arms round her girl. She kissed her just behind the ear and whispered something so softly Quinn and Rachel, who were climbing out of bed, didn't hear. They saw Brittany shiver awake at the sensation of the kiss and whispering though, making the two standing by the bed smile at the interaction.

"Time to get ready" Rachel eventually broke it up, as Santana whispering sweet nothings into her girlfriends ear had turned into them just making out... forgetting their friends were standing just a few feet away.

...

They were soon in the basement gearing up, outfits and body armour first, they equipped themselves with holsters and knife belts, although knives were not a priority and when fighting they were normally a last resort, the most important thing was the guns

"So, shall I run through the details?" the three nodded as they secured the copy of a WWII style machine gun in the back of the car. It was on higher stilts so it would sit at the right level for the person in the seat behind it to fire it out the back, where the glass rear screen had been removed. Perspex screens had been added at the sides of the once window to provide some cover. "Quinn, you'll be taking the back, with this"

"O-okay" She said a little worried "I thought you'd take the big one, seeing as it seems the most important"

"Quinn, we're a team, besides I'm going to be driving" she replied as she attached 3 loaded Beretta 92FS's to the inside of the driver door "You are seriously accurate, and you don't even need to be with that thing, but taking into account the rate of fire that thing has then it would be best to try and make as many of the rounds as possible count" she offered a half smile with her long explanation "Quinn, don't let me down"

She nodded "I won't Rachel, I was just making sure, you're sure you want me to take that responsibility"

"We're a team, and yes I'm the captain, I need you to follow my orders, that way we get in there, do the job get out, got it?"

She got three simultaneous and serious yes's

"What's with the guns you just put on your door?" Santana asked, not wanting any surprises on their side of things

"They're for me when we start the attack, or they're spares. If I'd had time I would have attached machine guns to the front of the car and rigged up triggers attached to the steering wheel"

"You can do that?" Santana asked "I mean I know they have that sort of thing in the Green Hornet but I didn't know you could actually do that"

"Well they wouldn't have been hidden or anything, so it wouldn't have looked as good but, they would have worked. It doesn't matter now. We better get ready to go"

...

The black car stalked the night streets with a low grumble as they slowly approached their destination

"Everyone clear on the plan?" DarkStar asked from the driver's seat. She got affirmative responses before continuing. "Okay, we're approaching the warehouse. Hoods Up" she commanded, they followed the order "MoonShadow, you should get into your place now" she ordered the girl next to her, who just nodded before climbing over the back of the passenger seat and to the back of the hollow car

"Eclipse, Halo, get into place" she instructed, knowing they were less than a minute from where they had been a few nights before

The two girls pulled a lever from under their rally car style seats, which unlocked them, making the seats manoeuvrable. They repositioned their seats to comfortably face the side windows. Rachel used the master electric window switches to simultaneously open them. The girls got ready for the drive by shooting style attack.

"Here we go" DarkStar warned "ready?" she asked one last time, and a mere second after she got three positive responses before revving the engine and charging the modified car towards the warehouse

The car burst through the gates, it was a bumpy ride to say the least. Eclipse and Halo started firing straight away, having less limited angles to take down the surrounding thugs

DarkStar immediately regretted leaving that note, it seemed as though Arc Zero bought all his thugs, men and women, just to be sure. Luckily DarkStar had done the same, only she cared for her people, they were a real family.

She shook simple thoughts of worry away, flooring the accelerator pedal towards the main doors of the warehouse. The car went over an uneven surface, it was MoonShadow who saw last that DarkStar had just run someone over.

Eclipse and Halo pulled their guns inside so they didn't get caught on the building as the car ripped through the door way.

DarkStar had to hit the break, straight away, as she saw row upon row of crates, no higher than one single crate that came up to DarkStar's upper torso, she guessed.

The car swerved round exposing the back, MoonShadow let hell rain down on Arc Zero's thugs in the form of hot lead

"Why did you stop!" Eclipse asked in a hush whisper equipping herself to get out of the car

"I don't know what's in those crates, besides we need the car for when we want to escape" Why was DarkStar having to explain herself? Maybe Eclipse was panicking and would have preferred to stay in the modified car "MoonShadow, good work, now let's move!" she ordered down the car once the machine gun was out of ammunition

They all ran from the car to behind the first row of crates, they used them for cover just as Arc Zero's hooded thugs were doing, only they were using a mixture of assault rifles, pistols and shot guns.

DarkStar led the way running through a gap on the line of crates moving to the next row, as she reached the next gap and peered between them, one of the thugs spotted her, she ducked back just as the crate next to her head splintered at the impact from a shot gun blast.

MoonShadow surprised attacked by, simply standing up, using a SIG to put a bullet between the shot gun wielding thug's eyes.

Eclipse and Halo were moving in a similar pattern further along the crates, they cleared each level carefully as they got closer to the back wall of the warehouse, were the offices and one Arc Zero was waiting. The confirmation that he was actually there bought great relief to the girl in black, they really would end this tonight.

As they got closer to their targets, the original hero saw Arc make a run for it, up the metal stair case to a single smaller room, It was time to move "Halo, I need you to plant the evidence just the way I taught you, onto the computer system and hack the safe" DarkStar instructed the hero in purple as they were crouched behind some of the strategically placed crates "MoonShadow and Eclipse you go with her, clear the way. I'm going after Arc, meet back at the car when we're done... we need to clear the building"

They understood what she meant by that, obviously they needed to end this, they couldn't have a thug screwing up their plans, at least not their escape, that would just be hell if they succeeded only to be cut down on the way out.

Throughout the training, each newbie had gained different skills quicker than the other two, it was Halo to pick up the technical skills, with the computers and other tech quicker than the other two, perhaps surprisingly. Eclipse had picked up the physical fighting the easiest, MoonShadow found using a fire arm natural... all these things worried DarkStar slightly, how the girls were able to pick up the skills so easily. The three of them together were equivalent of one of her... and it would be a lie if our original hero said she wasn't proud of her team.

They all gave one swift nod toward the team leader before scouting off in different directions. DarkStar watched them take cover along the crates, evading the enemy gunfire. When they reached the end they each adopted different positions before continuing their own assault.

The original hero in black abandoned her assault rifle and took their distracting fire as cover for herself, she darted straight up the metal stairs, closing in to where she saw him at the top. She reached him as he tried to dart into the upstairs office that over looked the warehouse floor, she grabbed his hoody to slow him down. But her grip slipped and he stumbled forward crashing to the floor, she straightened herself out before taking out one of her pistols. Arc tried to sit up but her foot came crashing down against his chest knocking his flat on his back again.

"Go on kill me, the same way your friend killed K, with no mercy just a head shot"

"I should shoot you" she lowered her head closer to his and gritted her teeth "I should empty this fucking clip into your head" her anger causing some spittle to fly from her mouth between clenched teeth "I should just end it right now, show you the same mercy you showed everyone else" she took her foot off his chest and re-holstered her gun "But I'm not you, so we end this fair" She stepped back allowing him to stand

"Being honourable won't get you far" he sniggered, he threw the first punch straight towards her head, she easily deflected it with her right arm before throwing three of her own punches to his gut. He readied himself for the next attack, adopting a stand similar to a boxer in the ring. He shifted his weight from foot to foot. She threw a few more punches, this time he seemed to absorb them, riding them out.

She decided to change tactics, throwing a kick this time, one to his knee, he cried out as if she'd crippled it but it didn't affect his capability to put weight on it. She then winded him with a flying kick.

He stumbled back buying them both some time, it was his time for a dirty move, as she leapt in the air to bring down a crushing blow on top of his head he pulled his flick knife off the back of his belt and thrust it forward in time, to stab her right under the bottom of her Kevlar vest, upward into her gut, she immediately hit the ground and stumbled back. She could already taste the blood in her mouth

"Told you, mercy doesn't work" he chuckled "I must know who you are though, I wanna be lookin inta the eyes of the infamous DarkStar when you draw that final breath. Before I go and get all ya little girlfriends" she stumbled away as he approached her, her back now against the wall

"You won't get them, you may have got to me but they're better than that, they won't hesitate to put a bullet between your cold, heartless murderous eyes" her voice constricted as she tensed at the pain

.

MoonShadow leapt over a crate, her knees colliding with a thug as she knocked him to the floor. They ended up with her straddling his torso as she smacked him in the face with the butt of her assault rifle. Eclipse passed on her left, then dropped to one knee and fired at the three thugs who were taking refuge behind the dry wall of the office they were trying to get to. Halo guarded their rear as they battled forward, evidence tucked inside her leather vest.

"Eclipse on your left!" the hero in red yelled, reloading her gun and climbing off the unconscious thug with the broken nose

Eclipse turned in time to shoot down another pair of Arc's men attempting to sneak attack

"Halo, forward" Eclipse yelled, signalling that the room was clear for the evidence to be planted, the Latina remained by the door to guard it. MoonShadow stayed further away keeping a look out "Shadow! Above you" they hadn't noticed the few men that had taken position on top of some of the industrial shelves. The girl in red swiftly opted for a pistol, turned straight to the 2 targets firing 3 bullets, the thugs dropped to the concrete floor with a gruesome splat.

She turned back behind her, 4 more thugs appeared from behind separate crates, it was like one of those shooting gallery games at a fun fair or carnival. She took them all down, winning herself a giant stuffed bear... well not really but you get my point. She then spotted three more making it for the door "We've got some runners" they didn't have an opportunity to deal with the 'runners'

"It's done" Halo called jogging from the room Eclipse on her heels.

"Are you coming?" Eclipse called back when MoonShadow didn't move.

"One last thing" she called back, slipping out a white sheet from under her vest. She found some industrial sized tacks and hammered them into the wall, to hold the sheet up, with the butt of her gun "done" she called back, checking it was hanging properly, before running to catch up.

.

Arc Zero was loading his gun in front of the bleeding hero "so, before this goes down, I've gotta know who ya are" he reached forward but she answered before he could touch her

"I'm Rachel Berry"

He almost choked as he burst out laughing, holding his sides. He then managed to compose himself before she could take advantage "No, you're funny though"

She pulled her hood back and smirked at him "Does it hurt your ego that it was me that killed all your men?"

"So you're friends, well that's gotta be Lopez, Fabray and dumb ass Pierce" she didn't let the anger get to her yet "Am I right?"

"Almost" she said lowly, showing her anger

"Shame, no one will believe me when I tell them say you were DarkStar" he chuckled again "then again I will have your body so my men will know... I'm seeing a lake burial" he mused "shame about your girls, they would have kept me busy, if you know what I mean" that evil laugh was back once more

And yes, DarkStar did know what he meant, and now she'd found it, that anger to drive her on "Not going to happen Arc, none of it. Now that you know my secret, you have to die" she was full of determination again, her injury forgotten as she pushed herself off the wall and launched at him, knocking the gun out of his hand with her forearm.

She used his surprise to her advantage, striking him with her fists at every opportunity. He regained his footing after several blows to the face and torso, as well as a few well placed kicks to his shins. Of course she could have just kicked him between the legs but that would be playing dirty and this was going to be an even match. He took a swing at her, she dodged poetically.

Then, with one swift leg swinging flip that a certain blonde dancer had taught her, she was behind her nemesis, she leapt up and hooked his head in the crook of her elbow, her knees putting pressure on his lower back, to both support herself and to bring him to his knees.

"Say goodnight" she said in the lowest most sinister voice her tired self could muster, before slitting his throat. Her feet hit the ground again, she shoved his choking, kneeling body away from her as the life rapidly poured from his body.

"DarkStar!" Eclipse stood in the doorway "I heard the commotion, I thought you'd be done with him quicker"

"So did I" she was breathless "But that son of a bitch just wouldn't die"

The girl in blue's eyes trailed down to where the knife was still in DarkStar's lower gut "Y-you've..." she trailed off as DarkStar's own gaze dropped down her body, immediately realising the knife was still in her. The adrenaline had caused her to momentarily forget the pain, she grabbed the knife and yanked it out, immediately tensing and wincing at the pain and throwing the knife away with disgust and anger.

"Has the evidence been planted?"

"Yeah Halo and MoonShadow sorted it while I guarded the door, the ware house is empty but some got away so we might need to track-"

"Let them go" DarkStar instructed leading Eclipse away from the door and back down the metal staircase "There's nothing they can do now"

"Are you going to be okay?" she murmured with genuine concern as they vigilantly made their way back across the warehouse floor to the

"I'll be fine, we don't talk about this" she gestured to where her stab wound was hidden "I don't need their concern, nor yours either, understand"

She answered with a simple yet worried "Sure"

They climbed into the car where MoonShadow and Halo waited for them, guns ready on their laps. As DarkStar put her seatbelt on MoonShadow leant over and kissed her quickly on the cheek, the original hero looked back at her, as if surprised. The hero in red just offered her a half smile, DarkStar offering one back but with sad eyes, hidden by her mask

"Everyone ready?" The girl in black asked

She got four yes's before starting the engine and tearing from that warehouse, never looking back.

...

"What's happening? Why have we stopped here?" MoonShadow asked as she looked to the house on the right of the parked car

"That's my house" Halo said with the same inquisitive tone

"We need to split up, I don't want anything leading back to us, we can't have people knowing we were all together tonight. I'm leaving you all at your separate houses. Sleep tonight, things will be dealt with" her voice was soft and tired, she kept her line of sight ahead of her, past the steering wheel she was still gripping tightly

"I'll see you tomorrow" Eclipse lent across from her seat behind the driver and kissed her girlfriend quickly on the lips

"See you tomorrow" she sounded a little reluctant as she hopped out of the car and stealthily made her way to her front door, remembering where her parents kept the spare key.

Next DarkStar drove to MoonShadow's house, it was nearer than Eclipse's to Halo's. Technically Eclipse's was closest to where they had finished Arc Zero off. But perhaps DarkStar wanted to evade police, get them further away and venture back later, after some time had passed, and when and where police would less likely be looking.

"Will you be okay, to get into your house?" DarkStar asked MoonShadow as they pulled up outside the Fabray residence

The hero in red looked up at the house then back to her girlfriend "My bedroom window should still be unlocked... it always was, when I was hoping for a visit from you again"

She heard Rachel huff a laugh "Tonight was the end of an era" the other passengers in the car could hear the hint of the smile in her voice

"Tomorrow, a new one begins?" Moon Shadow asked with the hint of a question

DarkStar slowly turned her head to meet her gaze "Yeah, new life begins" She leant over and gently grabbed Quinn round the back of her neck, pulling her into a searing kiss. Eclipse sat in the back, awkwardly ignoring the display of affection. DarkStar pulled away leaving her girl a little dazed

"Good night my love" she said as the blonde got out of the car

"Good night my DarkStar" she smiled behind the mask before closing the car door as softly as possible. The remaining passengers watch her climb the tree to her bedroom and successfully pry the window open and climb inside. Once DarkStar new she was safe, she continued onto the next drop off.

It was only about 20 minutes later that they were outside Eclipse's drop off point. Some time on the journey from MoonShadow's Eclipse had climbed through to the front seat; it was just a better place to sit.

Before Eclipse could get out the car the original hero grabbed the Latina's wrist "Eclipse, this is important"

"What is it?" she asked sincerely, she eyed DarkStar curiously, she was breathing heavily and her movement was slow as she turned in her seat

"Our girls are going to need protecting, understand. This will blow over eventually but they're going to need help. This is going to be tough Eclipse, it's going to be so hard after what was done tonight but I need your help, I need you to be strong for what's about to come, can you do that?" DarkStar was still latched onto Eclipse's wrist her voice verging desperate, her words shouting it

"I-I understand, DarkStar. I'll be strong, as strong as I can" it couldn't be seen under the black eye mask but her brow was furrowed with concern "I'll be ready" as she glanced down to her hands in her lap her eyes noticed something shiny, caught by the street lights outside, covering DarkStar's lap and lower torso. And it hit her, where these words were coming from "I'll be there for them"

"Thank you Santana" Rachel whispered breathlessly, realising that the girl opposite her had caught on to what she meant, she slipped her eye mask off and handed it to the Latina "take this please... for Quinn" her eyes reflecting more light as they got shinier

The Latina hero just nodded and took it with great reluctance and sadness, Rachel was sure she saw it, a tear in the other girls eye. She couldn't say anything, she climbed out of the car, the feeling of regret, and great sadness settling in the pit of her stomach

DarkStar only drove away, once she knew the third girl was also safe in her home, she climbed in through a ground floor window. The original hero still had a lot to do before sunrise.

…

Quinn woke up the next morning, tired and aching but full of life. The ordeal was over, despite what she did last night, she could now continue with life and more importantly she could continue it with Rachel.

Still in her pyjamas she felt she should venture downstairs, she could hear her mother moving around down stairs so she thought she'd join her, surprise her in the fact she was home

Quinn thought it best to make her mum aware of her presence quickly "Hi Mom" she yelled down stairs as she descended them

"Quinn, I saw you were home, I was wondering what you were doing back" she met her daughter at the bottom of the stairs

"Oh just needed a little break from all the Glee assignment stuff" she couldn't hide the smile of relief on her face. It would be short lived

Her mothers expression changed from a smile to serious "Quinn, there's something on the News I think you should see"

"O-Kay" she furrowed her brow and followed her mom to the kitchen where the small T.V set was on and the news reader was making her announcements

"_DarkStar struck again last night, leaving evidence that a student of McKinley high school, Azimio Adams was involved in dealing arms and drugs. The young man has also been killed by DarkStar. She left an insignia at the crime scene along with enough evidence linked to all the people involved in attacks by DarkStar"_ they showed the flag Quinn had left at the scene last night with the big blue star in the middle and the three smaller symbols at the bottom: A red negative image of the moon, a blue crescent moon and a purple outline of the sun with a hollow middle _"Officials are unsure of what these three smaller symbols mean. For those of you who have just joined us, our top story this morning: DarkStar unmasked and found dead"_

Quinn's eyes widened and her breathing grew shallow

"_In the early hours of the morning, the Fire department were called by a neighbour to the residence of the Berry family. The house was engulfed in flames, the source of the fire is unknown but one body was found inside once the fire was extinguished. Despite the body being mostly destroyed by the fire, dental records show that the body belongs to one Rachel Berry. DNA tests will be completed to confirm the initial results. With the salvageable evidence found in the basement of the Berry's home, it has been concluded that the young McKinley High student was DarkStar. Her parents can not be found for questioning"_

"Wasn't she the friend you were staying with?" Judy asked facing the television, her daughter behind her. She didn't get an answer instead she heard a loud thud "Quinn?" she turned around to see Quinn passed out on the kitchen floor "Quinn!"

**Bring on the hate!**

**Let me know what you think...**


	22. Living Without You

**AN: Just going to thank you for the reviews for the last chapter, every single one made me smile, and I liked the mixed response. So thanks to: ****HIsland429****, ****Whiro****, ****MaJorReader619****, ****xtreme****, ****Bordersmgr****, ****BleachedBlondeDork****, ****Musicfutbolfan6****, ****FacingFuture****, ****Midnight6Ecstasy6Assassin6****, ****TrustInFaith****, ****Monichanz****, ****pezberry2smith****, ****karadori****, ****Kikitagaru Kitsune****, ****NJ EF****, ****smartblonde317****, ****Anexsis Hirotomi****, ****WhatHurtsMeMost**** and ****emmacancook****. I was going to write personal messages but I'd be repeating myself and didn't want to give anything away, but thank you so much anyway**

**AN2: this was supposed to be up last night but, I kept thinking of bits to add, I may have had a few too many to drink and I actually had to get up early in the morning... any who, here's the next chapter...**

**Posted: 5/1/12**

Living Without You

"Rachel?" Quinn murmured in her sleep

"Quinn" Quinn felt the bed shift "Quinnie?" that wasn't Rachel's voice.

"Mom, what happened?" she croaked sleepily, opening her eyes slowly

"You fainted sweetie" Judy swept her daughters hair out of her eyes "we were watching the News and there was a report about that masked girl"

"Rachel?" she sat up in bed, tears quickly building up.

"Yes honey, they say it was Rachel" her mom wiped a falling tear from her daughters face away "I need to ask you something"

"What?" Quinn started wiping her own tears away and tried to keep her voice steady

"I found something in your wardrobe" she held up a black eye mask, she'd been clutching in her hands "The symbol on the vest in there matches one on the news report… were you involved?"

"Yes" she whispered and closed her eyes, allowing a few more tears to run down her face "But only that last one, Rachel trained me and two others" she confessed

"So Rachel was a close friend?"

"No" she bought her knees up to her chest and wiped her face with her pyjama sleeve "She was my girlfriend, I loved her… so much" she finished with more sobbing

"You killed people?" the mothers voice was shaky with concern

"Yes" her answer was just a whisper

"You helped her?"

"Yes"

"You had a relation ship with her?"

"Yes" still whispered answers with no eye contact "Are you going to hand me over to the police?"

"No!" Judy almost surprised herself with how sure she sounded "No Quinn, they don't have any evidence and you're my daughter… I-I couldn't"

"Are you going to kick me out for loving another girl?" Quinn asked, this couldn't be that simple, she'd done so much wrong, so many wrong things in her mother's eyes especially.

"No, don't be stupid" she awkwardly moved to sit next to her daughter and wrapped her arms round the younger blonde, the idea of her daughter being a killer made her feel un well but Quinn was still her daughter, she couldn't turn her in, there was no obvious evidence that she was even there anyway. She felt Quinn's arms wrap round her middle and she knew her daughter would need her. "It's okay, we can just forget it happened"

"Wait" Quinn pulled away "What?"

"Oh no, honey not like that" Judy realised how what she said must have sounded "I meant your involvement last night. But I'm going to help you through this, okay, I don't care if you're..." she hesitated to say "a-a lesbian, but you've lost a loved one and I want to help you, Okay?"

Quinn just nodded her head and her eyes welled up as she crawled back in to the support of her mother's embrace.

"You've got some visitors by the way" the older blonde muttered "Santana and Brittany got here a little while after you passed out, shall I send them in"

"Yes please" she whimpered into her mother's shoulder

"Okay" she said softly kissing her daughter on the top of her head, then she carefully peeled herself from Quinn's embrace and wandered away, to the door.

"Hi girls" she greeted the girls leaning expectantly against the wall opposite their friends bedroom door "Thank you for moving her up here. She'll see you now"

"Thanks Mrs F" Santana nodded solemnly.

"She's quite upset... I don't know how much you know but..." she trailed off stepping to the side, out of the way of the door

"We understand" Santana was trying to stay strong, Brittany behind her looked miserable.

The two girls past their friend's mother, into Quinn's room, not a word was said as Judy left them, they just sat there and mourned the loss together. They held one another, as they cried and eventually fell asleep.

Later Judy ventured up to check on the girls, she found them all asleep on Quinn's bed, her daughter in the middle and the other two girls holding her and arms stretched across holding each other too. She noticed Quinn was holding an eye mask tightly in her fist, at first Judy thought it was the one she had questioned her with. She then realised it was old, worn out, there was some stitching on it where it had been repaired.

Judy in that moment, realised they, Santana and Brittany, were the other two involved that night. They'd all lost a secret leader and dear friend.

…

The following Monday and there the Glee club were, sat in silence at lunch, in their usual places, Quinn was absent, Santana and Brittany had explained that Quinn and Rachel had been in a relationship, which only surprised half the table. They were supposed to be looking forward to Christmas, they'd be breaking up from school in a couple of days, but instead they thought of Rachel, and how they didn't really know her. Sadness increased when a few of them realised she didn't even live to the age of 18.

Kurt was the last one to take his seat. He put his bag on the empty seat next to him, Rachel's seat.

Puck who sat the other side of Rachel took the bag and abruptly dropped it on the floor, he turned to Kurt with a scary serious expression "That's Rachel's seat" you could hear it in his voice, he was as hurt as the rest.

Kurt looked insulted and surprised, he turned to everyone round the table "I'm sorry but she was a murderer, she may have been our friend, but she was still a killer"

"Kurt!" it was Mercedes to shut him up "You saw the news, the evidence. And I don't care what you say, everything she did was justified" The others were surprised at her sudden change in attitude

"It really was, Arc Zero was a bad person, he killed his own people" Brittany added

"Who's Arc Zero?" Sam looked down the table, confused as to what the other blonde was talking about

Santana, who'd been keeping her head down, sniffed and looked up, she was, or at least had been, crying "That's what Azimio's name was, when he was dealing the drugs and guns"

"Oh"

"Please, there's other ways to go about this that putting on a costume and killing people" Kurt scoffed "I just feel a little sick at the idea that I used to sit here and eat lunch next to her, I used to sing with her, we all did, don't you feel disgusted at the idea of just sharing your lives with her-"

"No!" Santana stood abruptly "Azimio and Karofsky and all the assholes involved with them were bastards who deserved to die!" she seemed to be growing with her anger at the boy opposite her "I'm glad I pulled the trigger and ended Karofsky's life" she said that part so only the table could hear "he made our lives a living hell just inside school, let alone what they did outside, you don't seem to be picking up on the fact he forced himself on you Kurt, you don't seem disgusted that the monster who couldn't handle being a teapot was near you everyday and kissed you, and he really was a murderer!"

This was news to most of the table, that Karofsky had kissed Kurt, they knew something had transpired to upset Kurt but they didn't know what. Kurt leaned back in his seat away from Santana who seemed to be growing taller with her angry words

"Wait, what do you mean, you pulled the trigger?" Puck asked in harsh, panicked whisper across the table

"Those three symbols left with DarkStar's on that last night they were for us two and Quinn, they were our symbols, we were her sidekicks that night" Brittany confessed

"And something went wrong and we couldn't protect her" Now it was clear why Santana was so upset. They didn't know the exact reason she felt guilty for though, it's because she felt as though she knew this was going to happen, and she did nothing to try and prevent it. She snatched her bag off the floor and stormed out of the cafeteria, in an almost Rachel Berry fashion. Brittany was soon on her heels

Once the table was quiet again, Puck leant across Rachel's seat and grabbed Kurt by the scruff of the shirt "You ever repeat what they just confessed to another soul I will make your life a living hell, understand?"

He swallowed thickly and nodded quickly

"Good" he violently let go of Kurt pushing him back to his seat roughly. They continued eating... or, well, staring at the food in front of them or moving it round the plate with a fork.

"I don't understand the teapot comment" Sam muttered

…

2 weeks later (very late December)

"Mom?"

"Quinnie, you're up" the mother was surprised as her daughter entered the kitchen. She was wearing a black dress with a white cardigan and black shoes. She was holding one of her smart dress coats which she hung over the back of one of the kitchen chairs as she dropped herself onto the one next to it at the kitchen table

"Well today's... you know" she muttered quietly, it was then that Judy noticed a black arm band of Quinn's left arm between her shoulder and elbow, on closer inspection it wasn't a simple black arm band, it was an eye mask, it was DarkStar's eye mask. Judy just smiled at her daughter's idea, Quinn catching onto what her mother saw hinted a smile back

"Would you like anything to eat, to help keep your strength up for today?" the older blonde asked delicately "even just some toast... or cereal?"

Quinn nodded "Actually, I'll get some cereal" she left the table and wandered further into the kitchen

'_Progress!'_ Judy's mind screamed, her daughter had hardly eaten since... _it _happened, she was trying to be there for her daughter but Quinn had hardly opened up to anyone, only Santana and Brittany... and even then not much was actually said.

They sat in silence as they finished breakfast, today was going to be a horrible day

...

All the glee club turned up for Rachel's funeral, even Kurt who didn't want to turn down the opportunity to wear some hideous- I mean fabulous hat and by the end of it all, he had shed some tears.

Mr Schue stood by his students, physically and emotionally, even Sue Sylvester showed up to pay some sort of respect, and to make ridiculous comments about similarities between the deceased and herself in her youth and things she did supposedly at Rachel's age.

Quinn's mothers stood with her as they lowered Rachel's remains into the ground, half way into the ground and Quinn was already crying onto her mother's shoulder.

Santana's father showed up to pay his respects to the young girl who saved him and his daughter.

Brittany's parents had always supported their daughter no matter what, so she had told them she was involved that night. They stood by her, the same way they believed DarkStar wasn't murdering for no good reason.

Quinn, Santana and Brittany all felt some disgust that Rachel's own fathers hadn't made an appearance, but they soon figured police might be looking for them, to question them about their daughter or to see if they were involved. Still they should have shown up...

Afterwards, Quinn, Santana and Brittany all went back to Quinn's home, where they sat in silence, before falling asleep next to one another as they had done a couple of weeks before. It left Quinn empty though, someone was missing.

Puck, Sam, Finn, Mike, Tina, Artie and Mercedes all ended up at breadsticks, sharing some personal stories about Rachel... none of them managed to eat anything but they took comfort in the words they shared. Kurt felt guilty for being so sour over the ordeal, he went straight home and hid in his room for the rest of the day.

…

January

"Right guys" Mr Schue clapped his hands together at the beginning of the first glee club meeting after Christmas "I realise we're all... sad since what happened... before Christmas" he rubbed the back of his neck as he struggled to say anything delicately to his class that looked depressed. At least Quinn was present even if she wasn't emotionally there, with her head in a book on her lap. If he'd read the title he would have been a little worried to see it wasn't a regular reading book but a mathematics pocket book. She was also still wearing that eye mask as a black band for mourning. "But we should be preparing for Regionals" he finished

"We can't" Puck muttered "Rachel was our leader, whether we liked it or not, how can we go on without her" a few people noticed how Quinn shifted in her seat when Rachel's name was said

"I think we should take this as an opportunity" No surprises who still had the guts and the nerve to speak ill of the dead.

"Shut your mouth Lady" Santana snapped not liking Kurt's tone "don't pretend like you weren't balling your head off just like the rest of us" again, quiet Quinn moved in her seat but continued 'reading'

"Guys we can't give up" Finn stood up to be the co-captain he was supposed to be "Just because Rachel's... not here" he took a place next to their teacher "We can't just throw in the towel. Because Rachel wouldn't want us too, I say we get the best damn set list we can have ready for Regionals and have everything planned for Nationals so we can practice and win this thing" he finished his pep talk and seemed to have got a few people attention

"Finn's right" a quiet, scratchy, tired voice said from the back of the room "Rachel wouldn't want us to give up" then she returned to her book

"So what do we sing?" Artie looked at the others

"How about as we all seem a little stressed or emotional today, we'll finish up early. You all have a think about what sort of songs you think we might be able to sing for Regionals" he dismissed the class, yet was first out of the room anyway. Quinn drove herself home, while Santana drove herself and Brittany home. Quinn had to take a detour to avoid a certain building, although it was more of a skeleton of a home now.

...

"What have you got there, Mr S?" Mercedes was first to notice their teacher walking in, late, to the choir room with a medium cardboard box

"I had an idea" he replied simply waiting for the group to turn their attention to him. Quinn sat at the back, silent, her head in a book on her lap. It was good enough though that she was there physically but maybe not so much emotionally "Quinn inspired it" he smiled when she looked up at the mention of her name. Mr Schue then dropped the box on top of the piano "after what Finn said yesterday and, when I noticed, again, what Quinn is wearing on her arm. I thought, if its okay with her, we should all wear one, for Rachel. What do you think Quinn?"

Her face lit up, if just for a moment, with teary eyes "I think that's a great idea Mr Schue"

"I thought we should wear them when we perform at Regional's and at Nationals" he opened the box and started chucking an eye mask at each of his students. He then took one and wrapped it round his own arm. He knew about Quinn and Rachel's relationship, but he didn't know about MoonShadow, Eclipse and Halo. "Right, I don't expect you to wear them all the time but..." he trailed off as he looked up at his class and they were all already wearing the masks as armbands... except Kurt who was only just putting his on once he noticed Santana, Puck, Sam and even Brittany giving him death glares. The teacher was sure, even though she was looking down, that there was a hint of a smile on Quinn's face.

...

February

"Did you guys hear about the copy cat hero in New York?" Sam asked, as he walked into the choir room, scrolling through something on his phone

For the first time since Rachel's death Quinn's expression changed from depressed to inquisitive "What?"

"Yeah, I got an email from my cousin who moved there 6 months ago. I'd told him about DarkStar and he sent me a link last night, apparently there's a copy cat hero in the City"

He held his phone out for Quinn to have a look, she snatched it away quickly with a short 'thanks' and scrolled through the article. Puck, Mercedes and Finn also whipped their phones out and started searching on the internet for the 'New York Copy Cat Hero'

Sam then continued to the whole class "They got a couple of blurry photo's but she pretty much dresses like DarkStar only she's in this ridiculous bright orange" he chuckled lightly

Santana and Brittany's heads both snapped up to Sam, they then looked at one another and simultaneously scrambled over to Quinn, to look over her shoulder

"It seems right that Rachel managed to inspire somebody" Tina mused "I think if she'd been on a Broadway stage, she would have inspired so many who saw her" she added delicately offering a half smile to the three girls gathered round the phone, who looked to her at her words

What was said actually made them smile for real, if just for a moment.

"She's called, Af-Aphe-Aphelion, I think that's how you say it" Sam tried as he explained to those who hadn't yet read fro themselves.

The three girls shared a look before Quinn passed back Sam, his phone and they cut glee club short, rushing back to Santana's to talk about this in private

…

"San, Britt, look, it has to be Rachel. Her costume is the same as DarkStar's except she wears orange, we discussed that colour to match our costumes, her name is Aphelion, which is to do with the furthest distance something is in orbit from the sun and Rachel was called DarkStar, and she's in New York, which is where Rachel always wanted to go" she picked up Santana's laptop again and showed them the blurry picture of a superhero in dyed orange leather, a black cloak and gloves, maybe even a black eye mask and a black star insignia in her chest "See, it could so be her!"

"Quinn" she took the laptop from the girl and then her hands and sat her back down on Santana's bed "Maybe for a moment there, I really hoped... but" she shook her head not ready to accept her own words "they found her body-"

"No" Quinn cried out in desperation

"The DNA test results confirmed it" Santana continued

Brittany slipped an arm around her and the blonde with the shorter hair wept into the taller girls shoulder "It's okay Quinn"

"No it's not" she stubbornly tore herself away from Brittany "Why can't I hope, you didn't lose her the same way I did. You lost a friend... I lost so much more" she finished in a tired whisper

Santana paused, what could she say without telling them she knew how badly Rachel was injured... Santana life was now washed with guilt and if only's,_ 'If only I'd told her to go to the hospital, if only I'd got her to my dad, if only I hadn't let her face Azimio by herself, sure she'd be mad but she wouldn't have got hurt the way she did. If only...'_

That's why she couldn't let them get their hopes up, Rachel had been injured, badly, could she have really survived that stab wound.

"Rachel died" she said softly kneeling in front of her friend, looking up trying to meet the other girl's eyes. Quinn shook her head as tears came back. "I'm sorry Q, But Rachel's gone and the least we can do is live our lives and not screw up the fact that she covered up for us"

"But Britt told the glee club" she excused while, the mentioned blonde was rubbing her back soothingly

"Who are also protecting us" the Latina pointed out "We all need to move on Q. I know that in the couple of weeks I lived with her I got close to her, like a sister but… we need to put her to rest now"

"San's right Quinn, Rachel wouldn't want to see you all sad, she'd want us to all be happy" she wrapped her arms round the short haired girls shoulders

"I know, I just miss her so much" she breathed out in a sob

Santana pulled the tired girl to lie down, Brittany lay behind her, spooning the girl. Santana lay facing her, she ran her fingers through Quinn's growing hair, hoping to sooth her enough till she fell asleep.

They were all so emotionally exhausted

…

March

Quinn had been mostly silent since Rachel death, she rarely spoke, only when she was talked too, she never was one to initiate a conversation. 3 months after the passing of DarkStar Quinn started to busy herself in her school work. She realised what effect her mourning was having on her friends and it made her feel selfish.

Of course the three were always there for one another, of course Santana and Brittany were luckier as they really did have one another, Quinn only had them as friends, and it was in that sense she felt alone. She'd think of Rachel, just holding her, or kissing her, they never did progress any further in their relationship, well they weren't together that long and the time they were together there were other complications, like people trying to kill them.

So Quinn stuck to the books, and studying, to distract herself from her missing girlfriend and for her closest friends sake, they needed time to themselves, not worrying about her.

…

They placed first at Regionals, the boys sang, minus Kurt, Enrique Iglesias: I can be your hero. Sam and Puck sang most of it with the others singing back up. The girls, reluctantly led by a bossy Kurt, sang Mariah Carey's Hero. They wore dark blue like DarkStar's insignia and all wore black eye masks on their left arms. It was their tribute to their lost captain.

...

April

The blonde didn't even look up from her school work when she heard the abrupt knocking on her bedroom door "Come in" she called out

The door opened swiftly and closed behind the body as they marched closer to where Quinn was situated on the bed "Q, I need to talk to you"

"Yeah" she said, not really paying attention

"I know this is a coping method for you" she said delicately "but I really need you to put down that god damn book for 5 minutes!" and normal Santana was back in the room

The blonde huffed and slammed the book shut before lazily lifting her head and making eye contact with the Latina "What do you want to talk about?"

Santana uncharacteristically hesitated, making Quinn concerned. The Latina shoved some of the books over on Quinn's bed so she could take a seat on the edge. She looked down at her hands nervously before finally speaking "I want to do something Quinn, but I don't think I can without your blessing"

"San are you-"

"I guess I want to ask you if you'll be my maid of honour?" she tried her best to not smile, feeling it was wrong to be smiling in front of Quinn

"You and Britt are getting married?" her eyes brightened with happiness for her friends, surprising Santana

"Well I haven't asked her yet, that's why I'm here. I want to ask her the day we graduate, after the ceremony. I want to take her to the middle of the football field because that's where we really met and where I fell in love with her that first day of Cheerio's practice, freshman year. But I need you to be okay with it, because if you're not then I'll wait-"

She stopped her nervous ramble when she felt and saw two hands wrap round her own "Santana, calm down" she smiled a genuine smile as the Latina met her gaze "You don't need my blessing-"

"But with what happened, I feel like we're flaunting our relationship in front of you-"

"Don't say that, I didn't mean to make you feel like that for being happy, you should be happy, you should savour every minute with her. R-Rachel and I, what did we have... a few weeks?" she huffed a laugh whilst trying to holding back tears "I tortured her for two years, wasn't that much better for a third... made friends with her in the fourth, finally confessed... but... I should have been honest in the beginning" she finished timidly. Quinn then cleared her throat, sniffed and wiped away the tears with the back of her cardigan sleeve "So you tell Brittany how you feel, make sure she knows, don't waste a single minute... and propose to her when you want. I'd also be honoured to be your maid of honour" she then rolled her eyes at how that sounded making Santana giggle uncharacteristically

"Do you want to hang out with me and Britts tonight?" Santana offered

"Um... nah, you two have some alone time" she was smiling, although the Latina wasn't sure how long that would last

"Well, just promise me, you'll relax... get your head out of those damn books" she chuckled "otherwise you might make Mike's dad made when you get better grades than his son"

"I'll try" she answered with an almost silent laugh and smile "Go spend time with the future Mrs Lopez"

She got up and left, trying not to smile as brightly as a Barbie doll "Thanks Q" she said over her shoulder "...for being Okay with me and Britt"

"Don't thank me S" she shook her head "Thanks for putting up with me"

"We're here, we've tried but you-"

"I shut you all out I know" she said, a little ashamed that in trying to not upset her friends, she did anyway "Now get out of here, before we get too girly and soft, can't have the HBIC's doing that"

The Latina nodded, hugged the blonde quickly, then left again.

...

May

The not so much anymore, un-holy trinity were actually hanging out together at Quinn's house, they were arguing over what to get for diner, they had the house to themselves as Judy had gone away for the weekend to visit Quinn's sister and her family,

"That's it, grab your jacket, if we're not deciding I say we go to breadsticks" Santana demanded

"They deliver though San" Brittany reminded her girlfriend

"I need some air" she pulled the taller blonde from where she was lying on her front on the floor "Come on Q" she encouraged the other girl sitting against the head board of her bed

...

"Santana, what are we doing here?" Quinn asked concerned, they'd already collected their food from breadsticks, they were heading back to Quinn's. She was suspicious when she noticed Santana was taking a different route back

"I pass it all the time Q... the roof fell through like a week ago... I thought you should see it" Santana parked across the street from the now collapsed, charcoal black, burnt out Berry residence "It was all our home at one point" the Latina finished sadly

"We had a good time there, even when we were learning how to kill" Quinn and Santana actually appreciated Brittany's bluntness

"Yeah we did" the blonde in the back of the car muttered

"I know its depressing Q, but I thought you should see it before they demolish it in a couple of days"

"They're demolishing it?" Quinn never looked away from the house with some remains of old police tape and hazard tape round one of the trees in the front garden and on the collapsed porch

"Yeah, someone bought the plot, they're gonna have to dig the whole thing out of the ground 'cause of all the secret basement space"

Quinn smiled, remembering their surprise at the transformation in that basement compared to when they were there for the party junior year. It was as drastic as the change between Rachel Berry diva and drama queen to DarkStar

"I hope they make happy memories in their new home, like the ones we have there" Brittany mused

Quinn sniffed and wiped a single fallen tear away "Can we go now San?"

"Yeah, sorry" she muttered, starting the car's ignition again

"No its fine, I guess it closes everything really, it really is the end of this emotional rollercoaster" the car was silent for a second while Quinn leant her head against the cool glass of the window

"Ugh" Santana broke the silence "No more reading for you Q, or you'll end up going all Emo on us writing dark poetry and shit" she sounded so serious before letting out a light hearted laugh, the other two passengers joined in as they finished the return journey to Quinn's

...

June

They went to National, they sang original songs, they chose Rachel's 'Get It Right'. There was much debating over who should sing it but in the end the class agreed Quinn should sing it

"Y-You want me to sing it... I-I can't I can't sing it like she did"

"It doesn't matter Quinn. Yes your voice is different, but it doesn't matter. You'll give it something different" she remembered how Mr Schue tried to encourage her.

It took more encouraging than that but in the end, she did sing 'Get it right' spectacularly.

The group also sang another original song, one they had written together. It was called DarkStar. The song was based on more than the girl they lost. It was based on the idea of wearing a mask, and that in high school, they all wear a mask. It also had a theme of growing up and moving on (hey what can I say? They really worked on this song)

They still wore those eye masks armbands. While outside of their performances, some wore them in every glee club meeting. Quinn wore hers all the time although at one point she was wearing it as a headband, around the time Brittany bought up a song Rachel had written. But lately that eye mask had been moved to a wristband, and it seemed it would stay there a little longer.

Due to the subject of the songs and theme of their performances for Nationals, like the fact that there were mixed opinions for the subject- some for DarkStar and her copy cat Aphelion and some against, they didn't get first place. Happily neither did Vocal adrenaline, however they did get third place, they hoped that would make Rachel proud.

...

Graduation

The day of Graduation finally came. Quinn didn't manage to beat Mike with the best grades in the year, and although he did get the best grades and made Valedictorian, he was glad he didn't have to make a speech. Quinn did get second highest grades in the year group though.

…

After the graduation ceremony, Quinn had photos taken with her two best friends, then a couple with her mother. She spoke to her other friends, the ones she'd made when joining more academic clubs-merely to occupy her mind, and said a few goodbyes as some of them would be leaving for college in the next few days and she might not see them before they go. Not the other members of the glee club, well the ones who'd graduated, all the glee club were going to a graduation dinner at breadsticks after, for old time's sake, so she could talk to them all then. While her mother was speaking with other parents, she looked around, and that sadness hit her again, someone was missing.

She had wanted to feel hope with the similarities between this Aphelion character and her DarkStar but like Santana said, that body they found was confirmed to be Rachel's, she had died, and something in the Latina's eyes when she had told her this, told Quinn she knew more than she'd ever tell.

As she fiddled with her own hands and Rachel's eye mask on her wrist, she looked round at the joyous faces surround her, in the shadow of this dark year. She then noticed Santana dragging Brittany away, and after a secret the Latina had shared with her she knew where they were going and what was going to happen. She decided to follow discretely.

...

Quinn watched her two best friends, she followed them with some distance to the football field. She knew this is where the two girls had first met what Brittany joined the Cheerios. She saw Santana drop to one knee holding Brittany's hand in one of hers and a small box in the other. Quinn stayed in the entry way to the field to the side of the bleachers, on the edge of the field, partially hidden.

She then saw Brittany jumping for joy and dragging Santana up, from where she was knelt on the ground, to kiss her.

"I'm glad I didn't miss that, or you graduating for that matter" Quinn tensed at the voice she heard from behind her, she didn't look back, worried what she'd heard was her imagination "I'm so sorry"

**Let me know what you think...**

**Erm... I wasn't sure about the black armband for mourning bit, I don't know if that's more of a tradition over here, the UK and parts of Europe. I know other types are worn like in American football they are worn with corporate logos and in football (soccer) the captain wears one and there're other examples but I wasn't sure about the black armband...**


	23. Team DarkStar, Till The End

**AN: Just wanna say thanks to everyone**

**For Reviewing: 100ways, faberrydragon, Meggymoo12, Musicfutbolfan6, smartblonde317, ToastedMarshmellow08, Covent girl vampire, MsChloeMa, Sexyoutlaw, dude, TrustInFaith, fatima343, gleekmx1, Fanglee, Cris, BleachedBlondeDork, ths3836, MilesToGo81, disasterknown, truc, writtingislove, Gleek, Bowl of cereal, Gladiolus313, Monichanz, Kat, elvenshoes, redphoenix198, HeartBreakDown, deafgurl, Confused-Ninja-Elf, Acrobat Ary, myMuseisMusic, Willowfan, rv, frustatedwriter13, July, Rogue-Z, 33, Pendragon93, SuperGleek18, w1cked, Avardsin, gaby2angel, emmacancook, QuinnSexRiot, MaJorReader619, ms . mrs, Whiro, Facing Future, General Mac, cash, KizBitz, Pratty 2005, WhatHurtsMeMost, SuperCaliBoy, Cassicio, lilyeyama, Anexsis Hirotomi, HIsland429, Xtreme, Bordersmgr, ****Midnight6Ecstasy6Assassin6, pezberry2smith, Karadori, Kikitagaru Kitsune, emmacancook, Ad3n, LucyRiot, the (at least) 2 people who used Anon and the four who didn't leave any name!**

**For Favourite-ing: 100ways, bigvampire21, LivinLaughinLovin4ever, MCBuot1977, nuku nuku6, theevilsmurf, bandie3565, KeikoKari, Magegured, Meggymoo12, WolfAlpha13, Ariene-Nightshade, Broadwaybabe22, conventgirlvampire, MsChloeMa, Musicfutbolfan6, oopsydaisyw, bitcheslovecupcakes, DEPECREW, TrustInFaith, bb2fly, fatima343, Roxas-Beast747, some-girl-somewhere, Kikitagaru Kitsune, clenche, xxLastShadowxx, pezberry2smith, RoshAzure, Figgy17, hihello, lindz . natsuki, avona, disasterknown, scratchx, makurutenoh, kahlin420, Boxcrusher, Monichanz, daniel678, HayleyBaby23, HeartBreakDown, KW Jordan, logansquare2212, Dalana, Squindy912, mypetconcubine, quinnrach, RockerGirl152, Kazarogue, UberNerd-stillbuffering, HotSauseX3, shenell, Sohverit, SuperGleek18, lollilops, tyrsaknowles, Aline Uga, ammacancook, Biglow12, pattiRISHA, MaJorReader619, SoThatsIt, Midnight6Ecstasy6Assassin6, FacingFuture, General Mac, WhatHurtsMeMost, Cassisio, Blue-Portrait, skybloom96, krlpatriarca, just08like17you, keelzz64, spyireland, mafaberry, yanval, Reu5able, Silver Ice Bullet, Hawkthorn, zee92, dinosaurchickennugget, Veggie95, neweldi, Skipper12, LucyRiot, caseyrn12 **

**For Alerting: ****100ways, Alibooboo, BasketHead, bigvampire21, jhc, mehastie13, nuku nuku6, samraven, scissorhands17, theevilsmurf88, xXvalepXx, bandie3565, Bella Brandon, carllah, G-DiP, GleeBerry85, littlestdevil, roch3lla, Rogue-Z, smartblonde317, TwilightGleek1, walldrug84, docebarbara, endlessthirst, kerribubbles, killforlies, jbeanne324, coventgirlvampire, Kurosu Kage, Lady Nat, MsChloeMa, Musicfutbolfan6, sexyoutlaw, Shaydefur, zop, Lost Pens, neoniloveyou, TrustInFaith, abCEEd, Laucha, Lil'Ms. I-Like-Girls, Confused-Ninja-Elf, HPBookfan, Wheelie91, StereoSkyline, fatima343, Luhh Vieira, trevman18, HIsland429, PureWiings, xxlastShadowxx, Jodarchy, kaayou, Monichanz, Bolt07, crzy4anime, frustatedwriter13, hillyjmalys, kysa91, Waterbug86, aka TC, Ms Geek, Tinyanywhere, lindz . natsuki, whenwordsfail, banaana, alwaysandforever4, Forgetyou, Kinda Badass, makuruteno, MilesToGo81, pattiRISHA, Aline Uga, patrishis, SupernaturalCanary19, kahlin420, Littlelamb13, adoslik, milly89, Boxcrusher, Gaara-William, Cladiolus313, LittleBlueMonkeySponge, HeartBreakDown, myMuseisMusic, sian154, kenziecallen, livemusic181, mypetconcubine, BlackGirl25, RockerGirl152, deafgurl, Gr33nPower25, Kazarogue, Willowfan, Android k18, Anexsis Hirotomi, KateB1919, Sif Ivalidi, african sky, wonderwall85, hkror, SleepyForest, SuperGleek18, nanders91, RUlov3r, SeekerofShadows, twilightgleek890, Avardsin, ubercast, lollilops, tyrsaknowled, Catcher84, gaby2angel, amz152, emmacancook, Loli151, throught-fire-and-fames, QuinnSexRiout, Golden-life, todraw, Corker42, SnugBR534, Tookeyface, MaJorReader619, Faeolin, xXmadluvXx, isthisreallife, Capulet730, smidge83, SoThatsIt, Midnight6Ecstasy6Assassin6, GoldStarsAndBacon, nightshade88, I Am N6, Ienne4Puck, Larisa3366, FacingFuture, SacredLion, shayme410, General Mac, THEornageninja, Dani Mars, Jellyblubber, jenanex, Pratty2005, WhatHurtsMeMost, Cassisio, TickleMeDoeFace01, riela, iseelesbians, just08like17you, inky.13, musomusi, Sweet evil angel, karadori, pezberry2smith, yanval, Hawkthorn, Ad3n, CharlieSwagron, JaniceHope, Malkum, neweldi, shanteezy, LucyRiot and squee-shee**

**Also thanks to TrustInFaith for helping out with some of the plot. Thanks to Facing Future, Meggymoo12, Sexyoutlaw, SuperCaliBoy and G-DiP for the name ideas they all helped!**

**And thanks to everyone who stuck with this till the end, I know I lost a lot of readers in the middle there for including the unholy trinity :/ so yeah just thanks**

**And so sorry this is late, I deleted it like 3 times because I didn't like how it was going, I'm still unsure so… here's the end!**

**Posted: 14/1/12**

Team DarkStar, Till The End

"Rachel?" Quinn let her eyes drift shut

"Yes?" was whispered right next to her ear causing her to shiver. She turned quickly and opened her eyes. The girl behind her jumped back at the quick movement, as if expecting to be struck. There stood a slightly different looking Rachel Berry, in a pant suit and sunglasses

Quinn's breathing grew shallow as she stared at the girl opposite her

"Say something" the brunette said softly and hopefully "… I know there's a lot I can say but…" she took her sunglasses off, folded them shut and slipped them into a pocket, inside her jacket "…I need you to say something, anything Quinn"

Quinn broke from her frozen state, just to say a few words "Y-y-you… you cut your hair" she settled for with a smile on her lips yet sadness and hurt in her eyes

Rachel returned the smile, with guilt behind it "I had to, if I wanted to be here today, I dyed it a little lighter too… it was the quickest, subtlest disguise I came up with. I just had to see you…" she ran her hand through her really short hair "You let yours grow… I liked it when it was shorter" she confessed

Quinn just nodded "…Why didn't you come sooner?"

"I thought about it, really, I did. I wasn't even going to talk to you today but I couldn't help it any longer. When I saw you, the way you were at my funeral, I just wanted to hold you-"

"You were there!"

She nodded meekly "I also saw the Regionals and Nationals performances, you were all outstanding"

"They were for you!" the welling in Quinn's eyes was back "We worked so hard, in your memory and you were there! How could you, how could you let us believe that Rachel?"

"I was for your own good!" she retaliated "If I hadn't 'died', the police, and Azimio's men who didn't get captured, they'd still be looking for me and maybe you as well. DarkStar died, so did Rachel, it was the easiest way"

"You think you did that to protect me" she shook her head "Why couldn't I go with you?"

"And leave all this behind?"

"Leave what behind! Sadness, depression? I upset other people just by being…" she sighed

"And how are you feeling now?" Rachel asked cautiously, wanting to know if she should have bothered returning in the first place.

"Honestly?" Rachel nodded "… I want to murder you, I'm so angry, but at the same time so relieved and happy and ecstatic that I don't know what to do"

"I think you need to slap me" Rachel said with a shy chuckle

Quinn's expression softened at hearing Rachel's laugh "Why? To make_ you_ feel better?"

"…Maybe" she confessed "But also I don't want you surprise attacking me later, plus it might help you get some of that anger out" she stepped forward "go on" there was a smile hiding on her face

"I'm not going to slap you" Quinn said a little more adamant but still playful.

"Hit me" she chuckled and took another step forward "I'll even let you punch me on the nose"

Quinn just chuckled too "I can't hit you, despite everything, I don't think I ever could"

"Oh come on, I don-" she was cut off by a tanned fist striking her across her face, it was enough to drop her to the floor, where her hands slapped the rough concrete ground as a last attempt to catch herself.

"Santana!" Quinn scolded her friend

Rachel laughed as she stumbled up to stand "Not bad, San, but you didn't break my nose" she turned to face them, wiping some blood from under her nose

"Damn" Santana muttered while Brittany held onto her fiancée's wrist to stop her striking the short brunette again.

"Santana, why did you do that?" Quinn asked, surprised and annoyed at her friend

"How could I not! She left herself open and you weren't going to. That fucking bitch let us all think she was dead, you mourned her for months Quinn! We all did!" she lunged for Rachel again

Brittany wrapped her arms round the Latina from behind and spoke softly into her ear "Calm down San"

"But she hurt us Britt" she didn't try to get out of the blondes embrace and her voice calmed "She hurt all of us… she made me feel like crap, I thought I could have stopped it all. I thought I could have saved you, but I didn't act and I've had to live with that, after I saw you were stabbed then the blood in the car-"

"Wait, you were stabbed!" Quinn shot her wide eyed expression back to the resurrected girl on her right

"Why didn't you tell me all this 'Tana, I didn't know you were feeling like that" Brittany asked her fiancée softly.

The Latina pulled away from the blonde to just hold her hand "How could I tell you that I could have prevented Rachel's death" she then turned back to the girl with the bleeding nose "I thought that you set up the fire because you were dying anyway. I thought the fire got to you after you'd died like you'd triggered it or something"

"I'm sorry" she said, still wiping at her nose with a tissue from her pocket "I'm sorry to all of you. I know sorry isn't enough, I knew I'd hurt you, when I saw you performing and, today at graduation... I was so proud of you all. I though and perhaps hoped that you'd got over this but I couldn't leave without talking to you at least Quinn" she just rambled desperately to the blonde high school graduate "I know that as much as I would love to maybe possibly earn your forgiveness, that that isn't possible. I realise now that returning here was a mistake and I can't repair what I've broken. So I'll leave again, perhaps it was better that I was dead" she spoke regretfully before turning to leave

"You can't leave now!" Santana yelled, getting Rachel to stop and look back "She mourned you for months" she gestured to Quinn "And all you do is stand there, what's wrong, your legs stop working, Berry? Hold your woman" she demanded... then smirked "we'll give you some time" she said to Quinn

"Meet you with the others at breadsticks?" Brittany asked

"Sure" she hugged each of her friends, Santana gave her a look as if to say 'will you be okay?' she just nodded her reply

The two girls hand in hand turned to Rachel "Good to see you alive Berry" Santana startled the brunette by hugging her briefly with one arm, then Brittany did the same

"Don't disappear again before seeing us again" the taller blonde pouted to the shortest girl there.

"I won't Brittany" the two then left, heading back to the others "So..." Rachel started "Did I mention I was so sorry"

"You may have" there was that tiny smile back

"Do you think there's a small possibility that I could, maybe one day earn your forgiveness?" Rachel asked still with worry.

"It's possible" she held onto a devious smile

She smiled before taking a single step and stopping again "Are you going to slap me?"

Quinn rolled her eyes "get over here"

Rachel smirked but wandered closer, and once she was within arm's reach Quinn yanked her forward so they were flush against one another and pressed her lips to Rachel's in a simple yet longing and desperate kiss. Rachel let out an almost silent wince, against the blonde's lips when Quinn's arms tightened round her

Quinn's grip softened, and she pulled away "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" she searched Rachel's eyes while waiting for a verbal answer

"No, just a little bit sore, few bruises, got shot at a couple of nights ago" she smiled before resting her hands on the back of Quinn's neck

"Rachel" Quinn moaned with disappointment and concern, before realisation hit her "So you are Aphelion?"The corner of the brunette's mouth turned up for a smirk "You are! I knew it!" She was happy that she'd been right all this time, and then she got annoyed as something else occurred to her "Why couldn't you retire?"

"I'm sorry, it's not like I graduated high school, you know" Quinn rolled her eyes at Rachel's lame excuses "I have to make a living with what I know how to do, and I was sent to New York. Turns out there's more people that need dealing with and thanks to you, Britt and San, my fathers have started an academy, they're going to have more like me all over the country"

That gave Quinn a desperate and tune changing idea "I don't suppose you might need one of your sidekicks back then" she asked oh so innocently, holding the hero in her arms

She pulled herself out of the blonde embrace "Quinn I couldn't let you do that. I'm so proud of you by the way, with your grades this year. But you must have so many options lined up, like what college are you going to?"

She bit her lip again, in anticipation of the brunette's reaction to the words she uttered next "I didn't apply"

Now it was Rachel's turn to scold "Quinn Fabray! How could you not? You've done so well this year!"

"I'm sorry but I only got those grades because the studying all the time distracted me from the fact I thought you were dead" She saw Rachel's expression resume to guilt like before.

"Did I tell you I'm sorry about that?" The brunette meekly asked again.

"Yes you did... right now I just want to forget about all of that, we'll discuss it later. I just want you to hold me" she pulled the shorter girl closer again by the jacket, when they were flush against one another again they automatically wrapped their arms around each other "and kiss me"

The brunette moved one hand from round Quinn's waist and cupped one side of her face, as she reached forward and connected their lips again, this time slowly, savouring the contact. Quinn nipped at Rachel's lower lip causing her to moan at the missed familiar contact, the brunette then continued by running her tongue along Quinn's bottom lip, with access granted they continued getting reacquainted with one another's mouths, until-

"Quinnie?" a searching person called out, before casually strolling round the corner and onto their scene "oh sorry" she muttered, seeing the two people detach themselves and look away, Judy was about to leave when she realised that one of the people she'd walked into was her daughter "Quinn?"

"Shit" she whispered before turning her head, still holding Rachel "Mom, erm this... this isn't what it looks like" she wasn't sure what to do, especially with her hands, she was frozen just holding Rachel who was hiding her face.

"Quinn I told you I accept you and if you've moved on then that's fine, why don't you invite your..." Okay she accepted but she wasn't the most comfortable person about this yet "friend round for dinner tonight?"

'_Okay, how do you describe awkward, maybe your mother finding you making out with your supposedly dead girlfriend- or is it ex-girlfriend? I hope its girlfriend, of god how I need this girl in my life... Quinn? Hello? Situation you're avoiding... Oh yeah- supposedly dead girlfriend who was the questionable superhero DarkStar and is now Aphelion'_ She glanced back at Rachel who actually looked nervous, as she kept her face firmly in the direction away from the blonde's mother. "I-I..." she struggled with words

"Hi, Mrs Fabray" Rachel cringed before letting go of Quinn and turning to face the mother... and her fate.

It took Judy a moment to refresh her eyes by blinking before she realised just who was standing with her daughter "Rachel Berry?"

"Formerly known as..." she offered meekly

Judy's expression changed from shock to... well she walked straight up to the brunette and slapped her across the face. Rachel head snapped to the side "Well I guess I deserved that" she muttered to herself, she rubbed her cheek in an attempt to soothe it and turned her head back to Judy, this time prepared for any abuse.

"Do you have any idea the hurt you've caused this family, do you? The pain you have caused my daughter, I tried my best to help her, but she just shut down" The mother was almost in tears herself, mostly for Quinn's sake, at the suffering she'd seen her daughter go through.

"I know" the brunette confessed.

"Mom, I'm right here, you didn't need to slap her" Quinn defended her ex-kinda-girlfriend.

"No I deserved it, and more, Quinn" Rachel said, whilst holding strong eye contact with Judy, just in case the disturbed woman tried something else.

"Quinn, your friends all just left, they're expecting to meet you at the restaurant" Judy said but just fixated her angry glare at the short brunette. The whole stare off made Quinn feel excluded and awkward.

"Oh okay" she creased her brow, trying to read exactly what her mother was saying "Rachel why don't you come with me, see the whole group again"

The brunette broke eye contact with the mother and smiled at the younger blonde "Thanks but, I don't think I can take anymore abuse, even though I deserve it. Besides they can't really know, no one can know, please tell Brittany and Santana to keep quiet about this" she requested softly, then explained a little more "You see I didn't clear coming here with my dads, they're gonna be mad but like I said... I really wanted to see you"

Quinn just held back the beaming smile that wanted o break free, she didn't want to soften to Rachel just yet, especially not in front of her mother. But she felt so much brighter inside at Rachel's confession. The pretend dead girl had, in a way, disobeyed her fathers and bosses to see Quinn.

"I think you should go now, Quinnie, catch your friends before they can say anything" her mother said, breaking the soft smiley moment the two girls were sharing.

Quinn just really wanted her mother to go at this point, but she saw Judy wanted to talk... threaten, maybe murder Rachel... could you murder a dead person? "When will I see you again?" Quinn asked anxiously. She couldn't have Rachel just disappear on her again, she loved her.

Judy answered before Rachel could "She'll see you tonight, for dinner, the invitation still stands" unfortunately Judy's tone didn't soften so Rachel wasn't sure if this was a trap.

"If I am welcome into your home then I'd love to join you for dinner at your house and will see you later Quinn" she tried to assure the blonde girl that she wasn't going anywhere just yet and that hopefully she wasn't about to be killed by the woman standing, almost edging her way, in between them.

"Okay" she kissed the brunette on the cheek and gave her mother a stern warning look, before reluctantly leaving.

Once she was out of sight Rachel immediately opened her mouth "I would like to apologise, Mrs Fabray, although I know it's not enough. What I have done is unacceptable but I did it for her own safety" Judy decided just to listen to the brunettes explanation "the reason I didn't make contact sooner is because I didn't even plan on ever making contact again, I mean, what am I going to do now, I have to go back to New York, I have a job even if it isn't something to be proud of-"

"Why did you make contact then, if you're just going to break my daughter's heart?"

"Every time I saw her, the funeral, the show choir competitions and today, I-I just couldn't help myself. And when I saw her follow Santana and Brittany, I remembered what Santana told me she had planned and... Well Quinn was going to be alone, and I couldn't resist. I'm in love with her" she sighed "I don't know what I'm going to do now, I can't fail my father's again, not after the mess I left Lima in, but I do love her and I just wanted to see her"

Judy was silent for a moment, deliberating Rachel's words. And then finally she broke the tension by speaking. "Be at the house at 7, that will give you some time to think, then after dinner I'll give you time to speak to Quinn alone. I don't want you hurting her again... understand?"

"Yes Mrs Fabray, I'll try my best not to hurt her" was the best she could offer. Someone always got hurt in the end...

...

It was nearing 7pm that evening and Quinn was getting worried "What if she ran away, what if she realised I was too much trouble"

"Please calm down Quinn" Judy tried "I did scare her earlier, she might just be a little nervous" she tried to reason.

"I guess" she grumbled "But, she shouldn't get nervous... considering what she does"

The reminder of what this girl was and what her own daughter had done bought back that sickening feeling in Judy's stomach... but she looked at her daughter, who was watching out the window, alert as a puppy waiting for its owner and best friend to come home... how could she not let Quinn be happy? It was then and there she made a decision, one she could regret for the rest of her life.

"Quinn?" her voice was sincere.

"Yes, mom?" she actually tore her gaze from the driveway out the window, to her mother.

"I want you to be happy... so whatever happens..." she bit her lip and closed her eyes trying to compose herself "Whatever happens, just promise me you'll visit and stay safe"

Quinn wasn't quite sure what her mother meant right then, she'd figure it out soon enough though "Okay, I'll make sure" she turned back to the view out the window in time to see a car pull up, then Rachel get out and walk nervously up the driveway. She darted to the door, yanking it open before the brunette could ring the doorbell.

Before Rachel could open her mouth Quinn slapped her across the face "Ouch" she said casually

"After processing everything... well yeah that explains that. Come in" she said lightly as if she hadn't just slapped the girl she loved across the face.

"These are for you" she passed Quinn a bunch of red carnations "and these Mrs Fabray, are for you" she passed the older woman a mixed bouquet "Thank you for inviting me this evening" the mother and daughter gratefully accepted the flowers, knowing that the brunette was trying, trying to make peace.

...

After dinner the two girls went to Quinn's room, Rachel started by apologising again, then trying to explain herself but never excused what she did, even though she pointed out that it was for the best she didn't say that was a fair enough reason for letting them believe she was dead.

"I do have one more question" Quinn said

"Go ahead" the brunette encouraged

"Why, when my mom said 'Rachel Berry?' you said 'Formerly known as'" she quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, I... this is a little morbid but I switched DNA and dental records with the... body double I used... it was a body from that night, and later I deleted them all together when I had time..." she shrugged, as if to dismiss it, to say it was nothing "I don't exist, that actual me is dead and the fake me no longer exists..."

"You're right that is morbid..." Quinn grimaced "so you have no name?" she checked

"You can call me Rachel" she smirked with a cheeky wink

.

It wasn't long after that before they found themselves horizontal, Quinn on top of Rachel, lips locked as the girls got carried away. Quinn was trying to find a gentle grip on Rachel's hair but it was too short, other than that she was thoroughly enjoying their little make out session "I'm glad you slapped me" Rachel breathed.

"Why?" she continued with soft short kisses.

"Just made me know you are hurting" now the kissing stopped.

"Well you did fake your death, I had to live with that for months" Quinn pointed out as she gazed down at Rachel's unchanged features.

"Did I tell you, I'm sorry for that?" she looked back deep into those hazel eyes she'd missed so much.

"Yes you did… and I guess I can forgive you" Quinn played innocent

"You will?" Rachel was hopeful, although she felt undeserving

"Yeah, on one condition" the blonde smiled

"What is it?"

"You take me with you to New York and… I resume my tasks as your sidekick and your girlfriend" she kissed her again, chastely on the lips.

"Quinn, I can't do that, I can't let you give up any chance of anything else in life. My life isn't one you should desire" she'd decided what was best for Quinn but the blonde was having none of it, not with Rachel pinned beneath her like this.

"You are the one I desire" she punctuated with another happily received kiss "and as for the life style… I think with a bit more training I could be worthy"

"Quinn-"

"Hang on, if she's going, we're coming too" Santana barged her way into Quinn's room, Rachel rolled her eyes as Quinn climbed off of her, freeing Rachel, and moving to sit on the edge of her bed .

"Great timing you two" Rachel grumbled sourly. She'd missed out all type of intimate contact for 6 months, even if she and Quinn had never got too far, that was a long time to be without Quinn's kisses.

"Any time dead Berry" Santana said dryly, trying to hold back just how pissed off she still was. Meanwhile Brittany skipped over slapped the resurrected brunette across the face, shocking everyone.

"And Brittany makes 4" Rachel muttered "Thanks Britt!" she yelled sarcastically

"You deserve it for making me sad" the taller blonde pouted as she returned to her girlfriend's side.

"And I'm sorry, and I'll do what I can to make it up to you" that pang of guilt hit Rachel again as she stressed her apologies.

"Q's already told you what you can do, let us join you again" Santana demanded

Rachel face palmed, this was going to be a long argument…

...

One year later

"Yes, I'm on my way back now... don't worry I didn't have that much to drink" the young man walked through a dark and surprisingly quiet area of the city "are you kidding, hello I'm a student, I can't afford the luxury of taking a taxi" he rounded a corner into a back alley, another routine shortcut on his usual route home "I'm nearly back" he informed his roommate as he got closer to his apartment "yes, I'll see you in a minute okay?" he then chuckled before disengaging the call. He didn't see the three thugs, in hooded sweatshirts, following him until one grabbed him.

He cried out in fear as he was pushed onto his front against a wall, by one of the thugs "You saw something today" the hoody said into his ear before turning the young man round so his back was against the wall. He saw the guys face, just barely, which was never a good thing. If they let you see their face then it meant they wouldn't be leaving you alive. Rachel had kept the same rule when she unmasked herself to Azimio over 18 months before.

"I d-don't understand" he stuttered

"You saw something today, something you should na' seen" why did the young man recognise that voice, the voice of the one holding him against the wall

He held his hands up in surrender as the faceless thug held him by the collar of his shirt and pulled out a gun with the other, he started waving the barrel in the pinned man's face "I swear I didn't see anything"

"You witnessed a deal that went down, we need to... erase that" the other two thugs laughed deeply, menacingly at their partner in crimes chosen words. Then the other two thugs drew their pistols as the first thug stepped back ready to open fire. The attacked boy's heart was in his throat, stopping him from breathing. He was sure he was dead. He just closed his eyes and hoped for a miracle.

Suddenly two figures dropped from the fire escape above, landing behind the thugs. The one in orange grabbed one of the thugs heads in the crook of their elbow and reared his head back, they then used a knife to slit his exposed throat. His cry was gurgled, the noise made the attacked man open his eyes to the horrific miracle. The other, in red, used a fine wire to quickly take care of the other thug by garrotting them.

The first thug, who had grabbed the young man, turned to fire at the mysterious strangers who'd just joined the 'party' only to be met with the same knife that just slit his friend's throat being stabbed straight into his chest.

The gentle pitter patter of rain drops joined the three living and the three bodies in the alley, the water turning red as it joined the bodies on the ground The person in orange picked up the young man's bag and passed it back to him "are you okay?" the hooded figure asked with a raspy voice.

"I will be, thank you" he sighed with relief, finding it much easier to breathe now, even considering what had just happened in front of his eyes.

The other person in red came closer out of the shadows "What did you see that was worth you dying for?"

"I-I didn't know what they were doing, they're students at NYU with me, I just- they were being really shifty, they saw me looking at them" he explained, trying to prove his innocence.

"Looks like you were right Shadow" the orange one called the red "they must be on edge if they were going to kill just for someone looking at them"

"Thanks Aphelion" it was obvious that both these strangely dressed characters were young women "will you be okay to get home?" she asked the young man

"Y-yes"

The two nodded at him before turning back to the fire escape, they started to climb back up, the one he only knew as shadow, going first. The other in the orange, he knew as Aphelion, looked back at him whilst hanging onto the first ladder "Be careful Kurt, it doesn't pay to be nosey" with that they climbed to the top of the building and out of sight

Kurt looked at the three that lay dead in front of him, and before the shock could wear off and he could cry in panic, he ran, he ran as fast as his nervous leg would carry him. The same legs that only moments ago had turned to jelly. He reached the end of the alley out into the open, in the rain, where he could feel he could breathe perfectly again, not suffocated by the buildings standing so closely over him like that gun wielding thug moments ago.

Two figures, Aphelion and MoonShadow, watched over him from the roof tops, as he made finally made it back to his apartment

"We'll have to watch out for him" Aphelion said to her partner. MoonShadow just nodded before following Aphelion home.

...

"Where have you been? We didn't think you'd be this long" Brittany asked as Aphelion and MoonShadow climbed into the seemingly hollow building through a second story window "We were worried"

The two dressed in their hero outfits peeled off their soaked cloaks and removed their eye masks "Sorry Brittany, we were helping out an old friend" Rachel said as she walked up stairs to the common room on the fourth floor. They lived on one floor of this building, that fourth floor, there was a common area in the centre with a similar set up to DarkStar's base. There was also a garage on that floor that used a discreet lift system to move vehicles from the first floor. Off the central common room were their own rooms and everything else they'd need.

"Oh you two finally decided to come home" they were met by the last member of their team, with her sarcasm, in that common room.

"Leave it out San, we got the evidence" Quinn reached into a pocket on her belt and passed Brittany a computer memory storage hard drive.

"And Quinn was right, they are on edge, they know we're investigating them" Rachel added

They gathered round the computer as Brittany uploaded the data and started analysing it "Hmmm, that's a lot of gun smuggling. They're probably over compensating for the amount we led the police to" Brittany concluded

"This is getting out of hand, we lead the police to the guns but where's the progress, I say we step in this time, take down another crime boss bastard" Santana suggested as she folded her arms to add to her whole attitude stance.

"We'll investigate further first" Rachel said, more of an order than a suggestion "We may know about the guns, but that's about it, we should start, at NYU, the same college that Kurt attends, he said he knew the thugs"

"Kurt? You had contact with Kurt?" Santana was more than surprised. If there was one member of the glee club she'd be happy to never see again it was him, especially after he asked to Rachel's DarkStar outing and death... not that she'd admit she felt sisterly love for the little brunette and team leader.

"He got attacked tonight, he said he know... or rather _knew _them from college" Rachel explained. The past tense immediately let the others know that the bad guys involved were no longer living.

"Oh god is he okay?" Brittany grimaced at the thought of what he witnessed, it being his 'first time' and all.

"He will be" Rachel assured her friend "It's getting late, and I'm tired, we'll continue this in the morning. Goodnight" she quickly said dismissively. Right now she just wanted to rest in her girlfriend's arms and she was sure the other two wanted to do that too, it was their luxury in life.

She left for her room, Quinn followed, wanting to change out of her outfit too anyway "Are you okay? You seem a bit off lately" she asked as soon as their bedroom door was shut.

"I'm fine" she sighed, lifting her Aphelion vest off, over her head "It's just... my dad's are thinking about reassigning us"

"What?" Quinn's gaze shot across to the other side of the bed where Rachel was changing "why?"

"There's less crime here since our presence, we have to go where we're needed" she shrugged, though deep down she didn't want to leave the city, it was their home.

"We're not being split up are we?" Quinn asked worried

"No, I'm there daughter they won't do that to us... I doubt they'd do it to anyone, you wouldn't mix up teams once they get settled..." she rambled "It's just its New York you know? It's where this started"

"This started in Lima" Quinn corrected

"I know but for me, when you finally talked me into bringing you here, when we finally became Team DarkStar, when I felt you were truly capable and I didn't feel this horrible guilt in the pit of my stomach for letting you go out into the night with me and... well you know" she sighed weakly as she slipped on her pyjamas then grabbed one of her pistols. She switched the safety on and then placed it in the top draw of her bed side cabinet. She then climbed into bed, instantly relaxing "I still however feel guilty for the pain I caused you for faking my death, which is only fair I know"

"Please get over it" Quinn sighed climbing in next to the brunette, laying on her side and cuddling into Rachel. She settled one arm across Rachel's abdomen, and the brunette instantly held her own hand over Quinn's "I told you I'd forgive you if you took me with you"

"I'm still annoyed at myself for letting you three talk me into that, but I guess I wanted you with me too" she mused staring at the ceiling "I'd do anything for you Quinn"

"I'd be happy if you did just one thing for me Rach" she smiled to herself mostly as she gathered the courage to actually push this point.

"What's that?" Rachel asked, not sure what to expect but not expecting much.

"Marry me?" Quinn asked softly

The brunette froze for a moment and then pulled away a little and looked straight to her girlfriend. Quinn slowly gazed up meeting Rachel's concerned face "Why would you want to marry me?"

Quinn scoffed and pulled away "maybe because I love you dumb ass" she rolled over facing away from Rachel to be alone with her embarrassment.

"I didn't mean it like that" the brunette sighed following the blonde to the other side of the bed, pressing her body against Quinn's back, placing a hand on Quinn's shoulder and closing her mouth in near Quinn's ear "Our life isn't ideal" she said softly

She turned her head sharply coming face to face with Rachel who was leaning over her "San and Britt got married" the pair in their own room could happily call themselves wife and wife so why couldn't they.

"I know... I'm just surprised you asked me" she kissed Quinn, she couldn't help it with their faces so close. Quinn found her disappointment melt away, she threaded her fingers into the brunettes long locks as she got carried away. Meanwhile she was glad Rachel let her hair grow again, while she'd got hers cut short again.

"You still haven't answered my question" she breathed when the kiss was broken

"I'd love to marry you Quinn" a grin quickly grew on her face, Quinn was soon grinning like a fool too, she reached up to drag the brunettes lips closer to hers by tugging on the back of Rachel neck-

"Hey Berry, what's this about us being reassigned!" Santana stormed into the room, in a similar fashion to the way she did a year ago "I just read your emails from your dad"

Rachel dropped her head to the crook of Quinn's neck and muttered something that sounded like 'for fuck sake'. Quinn just chuckled as she laid there, pinned.

She reluctantly peeled herself away from Quinn "My dad's are considering reassigning us to where we're needed, crime has been reduced here, there are other cities that need our help" she groaned out "I was going to tell you when I knew more. They're not just going to move us, we'll know more in the next month, okay? Can we go to sleep now?"

"Are they going to split us up?" The taller blonde asked the same question Quinn had earlier.

"No Britt" Rachel simply said to the blonde who'd followed Santana into the room. She slowly eased herself off of Quinn to sit up and free her girlfriend... or maybe fiancée "We're a team remember"

"We can't be split up, we're too good together" Santana reassured her wife

"Team DarkStar" Quinn said, looking fondly at Rachel.

"Team DarkStar, till the end" Brittany added

They all turned to look at her before echoing the taller blondes words "Team DarkStar, till the end"

**The End**

**Thanks for reading :)**

**Note 23/9/13 The Epilogue, which was going to be three parts, two of which **_**were**_** up, have been removed and reposted as another fic 'Team DarkStar'. It will be a short sequel, I will update as soon as possible**


	24. Epilogue moved to a Sequel

24/9/13:

Just a note telling anyone not in the know, the epilogue has been removed and moved to it's own fic: 'Team DarkStar' which has just had a third, but not final chapter added to it. sorry it's taken so long but I did promise to finish it, along with all my other fics. I also hope to update 'Team DarkStar' constantly over the next few weeks.

Sorry for the kerfuffle :/


End file.
